“Mom, I’m going to bring Dante home for a sleepover.”
Dante. When I first heard about him from my daughter, Liana, she told me about a dog who had been tied to the fence of the local shelter and left there overnight until the shelter workers got there in the morning. Everyone was afraid of him, because he was so scared, he was afraid to let anyone get near him. That is, until Liana was able to connect with him. Liana and Dante became friends, and every day when she went to work at the shelter, she looked as forward to seeing him as he did of seeing her. They became fast friends.
Dante suffered the same fate that so many “pit bull-type” dogs do when they are in the shelter. People hesitate to adopt them. They are strong, can look menacing, and the media has not been kind. Dante was at the shelter for a year when Liana decided to leave her position at the shelter for another job. The people at the shelter knew it was not likely that Dante would ever be adopted out to a family of his own and asked Liana if she would like to take him.
I was away at a conference when I got that first call from Liana, and she told me that she was going to bring Dante over to the house for a sleepover. A sleepover? I didn’t know how we could manage that, because we already had Sofie, our rescued Rottweiler, and Banky, another rescue who found a home with us. I walked into my house and there was Dante, who I had never met in person. His happiness at being in a home couldn’t be contained, and as he bounced around the room and leapt toward me, I can’t say that I wasn’t a little bit afraid until he licked me with the biggest, most slobbery tongue that I ever saw.
That was the beginning. Dante had a few more “sleepovers” at our house and soon, he was a permanent resident. That was about 11 years ago. Since then, we have been so fortunate, and so blessed, to have Dante as a part of our family. It wasn’t always easy- Dante was a fan of eating dirty laundry, which resulted in two surgeries that any other dog would not have survived. That didn’t stop Dante, though, who also was one of the most athletic dogs I have ever seen. Once, Dante even tore his ACL. I didn’t even know that was possible for dogs, but it didn’t stop Dante. Dante also would try to be helpful when he can, and his intuitive personality went way beyond simply comforting his humans. There was a time when I was in the yard, pulling roots up from the lawn, and Dante noticed I was struggling to remove the root. Dante’s “work dog” ethic kicked in and before I knew it, he was by my side pulling the roots with me! We both had fun doing yard work that day! He was always willing to snuggle or play ball with Holden or go for a walk with Gary. He was versatile, and was always happiest when he was with one of us
Dante had some bad habits, most of which could be traced back to his nervousness. He would lick his paws endlessly, which was so bad for him, but also drove me crazy. When I was home from work during the pandemic, everyone got to know Dante, because whenever I was on a call, he would bark endlessly. Did he want my attention or want to be included in the conversations? Either way, he became very well-known to my work colleagues.
Dante has had a hard time these last few years- there was a cancer scare, a concern about a neurological issue and worsening skin allergies and ear infections. Dante was just as loved at the vet’s office as he was at home.
Up until his very last breath, Dante was filled with life. He wanted to live, and move, and experience the outdoors. Today we had to say goodbye to him, and as we spoke about him and the life we shared with him, we talked about dogs’ capacity to love. We knew that Dante loved us and was so happy with the life we shared with him. As we spoke, Liana said something that struck me. She said, Dante was always so happy, but always so grateful and thankful, and you could see it in his eyes whenever he looked at you. Even in his decline, he would look at us with love when we helped him from one place to another, help him stand when he needed to, or help him up and down the stairs when he wanted to go outside to watch the birds.
Dante knew we were his people, we were his family, just as he was a part of ours. Dante has now gone over the Rainbow Bridge, and I know that as he joins Sofie, Banky, Duchess, Crystal, and his cousin Sypher, and all the other dogs that we have loved and lost, and he will be looking down on us with love. Until we meet again, sweet boy. Thank you so much for all you gave to our family. You will always be in all of our hearts.
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