My neighbors dog has decided killing chickens is a great sport. The other morning I witnessed her kill a chicken right in front of me. My dog Ginger has appointed herself the guardian of the flock.

Neither of us could save the chicken’s life and unfortunately Dale has been missing since the beginning of the week. All I have been able to find is a pile of feathers so I assume Dale has changed address and is no longer with us.

Dale enjoyed her life here and her foot had healed quite nicely. I will miss her greeting my car when I drive into the yard. She was part of my family for ten years. We were going to take her back to visit the Vet to show her how nicely her first chicken toe amputation surgery had healed. Dale had the funniest walk, it was half hop and half wobbly run. Her chest was rather flat so it made her look wider than she was, combine that with her hippity hoppity walk she always made us laugh and brought a smile to my heart.

I have a few of Dale’s feather’s on my altar and many warm memories in my heart. Tomorrow I will put one of her feathers on the other chicken’s grave. We called the other chicken ‘The Pecker’ because she would come to the door and peck at the screen door until she got fed.

To me their deaths are another opportunity for me to see the perfection in everything. I have shed many tears and had moments of wanting to kill the dog but I keep reminding myself about the concept of pono, love and forgiveness. The ‘killer dog’ used to bark almost all day long. When I showed the woman my dead chicken she apologized and said she might get rid of the dog. I haven’t heard any barking since. Maybe killer dog has moved on as well. This weekend I plan on going over and talking to the neighbors to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.

Life is and then we tell ourselves a story. I choose to focus on the joy these feathered friends brought me and allow myself to miss them while I watch my month old baby chicks grow by leaps and bounds. Death is after all part of life and I have found death can actually make the gift of life even sweeter.

As I was feeding the babies today I thought about the fact that all of my pets are only here for a limited amount of time and I can savor each moment or dread loosing them. I prefer savoring all my precious moments with them and in the case of Dale my memories and all the wonderful gifts knowing her has brought me.

With love and aloha,
Susan