Today, pretty much to the minute as I write this, it is ten months since my Luba died.

A strange thing happened as I took Falkor round the block (he is still poorly, but he's holding his own):
An elderly neighbour, who LOVED Luba came out of the side of his house, grinned at me and asked "Where is Luba?"
I stared at him, bewildered. He was absolutely saddened by her passing, and has referred to her death many, many times over the past ten months. Why was he asking "Where is Luba?" just like he used to ask me on those times that he saw me walking without her while she was still alive.

Immediately after asking, my neighbour stopped. He looked at me and said "Why did I just ask you that??" he then told me "Stop, and listen: I felt her right here. I think she is very close today. It was as if she was BACK WITH US" I proceeded to tell him that today was her ten month death anniversary. It was a rather strange incident.

Luba, if you are around, I guess you can see that your "brother", Falkor , is struggling. Please help give us all strength.

I miss you Little Dog. I hope you are ok...

Wow that is very strange! Somewhat comforting though...Luba must be watching out for her bro. He is prayed for and cared about very much at this site! Keep us updated. -Jenny

Dear Steph,

Wow, ten months. It know it seems hard to believe that you have been without your precious Luba that long. However, you have NOT been without his love and protecting spirit!

My thoughts and prayers are with you and Falkor today on this sad anniversary.

Cheri

Oh Steph, I am SO, SO sorry!!!!!!!!!!!
I meant to say "her"! I didn't mean to make that mistake.
PLEASE forgive me!!!!

Cheri

Thanks you Jenny and CheriAnn,

Yes, it is comforting Jenny. No doubt Falkor is picking up on whatever my neighbour picked up on because he is doing better today than yesterday.

CheriAnn, it is hard to believe that it is 10 months! Don't worry about the "he" slip up. Just this morning I told Falkor that he was a "good girl".

I guess I have Luba on the brain too.

Dear Steph, I am thinking of you and your precious Luba on this hard day for you. I believe your neighbor just gave you a sign that Luba is with you always. Nothing strange about it, it is a wonderful sign that Luba has never left you. Oh sure they run and play but I believe they do come back and check on us and watch over us. Maybe Falkor did feel his sister Luba and that's why he was better today. What a wonderful gift from Luba that hopefully gave you some peace of mind.

When is Luba's birthday coming up I don't believe you ever said what day in April it falls on? I didn't see her Birthday listed on our Calendar. Please tell Falkor to get well and so many of us do love him here at LS.
Love, Ann

Dear Steph, I hope you do not mind that I put Luba's picture on here. But if you do I will never do it again just let me know. I wanted to put this picture of your beautiful girl on here, I love this picture of Luba. I cut it down just a little so no one would have to scroll to read your post.
Love, Ann

Steph,

Thinking of you, Luba, and Falkor today......

Ann, I love that picture of Luba too! What a beautiful girl!



Kristie

Dear Steph,

Thinking of you on the 10 month anniversary of Luba's passing. That's sure a long time. Wow, that's something about your neighbor mentioning Luba being right with you. Very sweet pic of Luba that Ann posted. You can see just how much she loved to play.

Hang in there..............and I hope Falkor continues to improve

Lynn

That was so sweet of you Ann!
I too just LOVE that picture of Luba. She looks so happy and ready to play there.

Cheri

Steph,
I'm thinking of you on your 10 month anniv.
What an amazing story about your neighbor. I totally think that's a sign. What a gift you got today!
I also had a similar experience today. I was walking Bailey and we crossed paths with a woman from the neighborhood who used to walk her dog around too. She had to put her dog down a few months ago because she was very old and had lots of health problems. She always said hello to me and the dogs when she saw us, and always remembered Jasmine and Bailey's names. Well, today she came up and petted Bailey and said "where's Jasmine?" I said "Oh she passed away 2 weeks ago." We then proceeded to talk for about 45 min about losing our dogs and although she was still sad, she was so upbeat and grateful for the love she had from her Snookie. She talked about how their spirits are still around us and she can still feel Snookie around her. She said Jasmine will allow me to feel her when the time is right.
It was so great to talk to someone face to face about all this. But I hadn't seen this woman in months and I felt it was more than coicidental that I ran into her on my 2 week anniv. (last night was but close enough). And now I read your story and I dunno...it just seems like it all meant to happen.
So thanks for sharing your story and thanks for being an inspiration in the healing process.

Dear Steph-
I am thinking of you and Luba on this sad day. Anniversaries are so tough.
I hope darling Falkor gets well soon.
Hugs,
Fran

Thank you all so much for your responses. And Ann, I am so touched that you posted the photo of Luba THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

I just got back from a visit with my friend.and her little kids. I have about five minutes before I have to head out with Falkor, but I will be back to post more tomorrow.

Reading your responses has warmed my heart and brought happy tears to my eyes.

Thanks again!

Hi Steph:

Wow............Ten months.... I remember when you came "aboard" here at LS.... It "seems like" time flies by....but
at times...........it just drags..

That really IS something with your neighbor.....I feel that it is a DEFINITE SIGN....
Your sweet, precious, beautiful girl, Luba is around you, Steph..... That's for sure!!
And, I DO feel that Luba IS WATCHING OVER FALKOR .....


I've been doing something like that the past month..... Ms. Lucy does resemble Ernestine, and at times, I catch myself
saying, "Ernie-Girl"... , when I'm calling Lucy....
I'm sure that my sweet Ernie is on my mind at times.....
A "Happy Mistake" is what I call it!! Lucy doesn't mind!!

I've never been able to have a "furdog", because I'm allergic to them, unfortunately!!! ....
But, you know.......when I look at pictures of Luba....there's really something in her eyes that
tells me she always understood....
I wish that I knew her....

Is Falkor doing okay?? I hope so!!

Take Good Care...

Love, Denise

Denise, you are the opposite of me with the allergies: I've never been able to have a "furcat" because of allergies, whereas dogs don't bother me in the least!

Yes, Luba's eyes were so very special. It was as though she could look right into your soul. Many people noticed her special eyes while she was alive. It is amazing that many people here have picked up on her special eyes just from the photos!

Funny how you are calling Lucy "Ernie Girl" and Falkor has been a "good girl" recently. Falkor doesn't mind in the least either.

He's much more "frisky" today by the way.

Hello Steph,

My thoughts are with you on this ten month anniversary. I have no doubt your sweet Luba continues to be ever present in everything you do. The incredible bond we have with our beloved pets can never be broken----as long as we live, the love shall remain and I find great comfort in knowing that. I hope everyone else does too.

It was very kind of Ann to post the pic of Luba at the beach...it's one of my favorites too. My all time favorite photo of Luba is the one when she was just a pup, lying on her back, surrounded by her food and toys. If my computer skills weren't so lacking, I'd post the pic...Ann's way ahead of me on that one!

I will continue to keep you, Luba, and Falkor in my thoughts...it's great to know Miss Luba is helping you look after her little brother.

Take care,
__Jim

Hi Jim,

Guess what I'm about to post now...

Thanks Kristie!

Lynn, she could have played ball 24-7. It was unbelievable. I'd say "Do you want to play" and she would RACE off and get her ball of choice and start dancing around with it. I can't even beging to count the number of times that we went to the park to play ball. Must be in the thousands and thousands....

It's so lovely to see those beautiful pics in this section, well done Ann for thinking of it!
Steph, Luba was so very special, whenever I see pictures of her I get this warm glowing feeling in my heart. It happens when I look into those beautiful eyes of hers. Its like you can see straight into her beautiful soul.

I too had a border collie. She was a very special girl. She had telepathic links with my son, and would always know to the minute when he would be coming in. As soon as she went and sat on the front window cill I would start to make the tea. I knew he would be coming through the door within 5 minutes. She never got it wrong even though the time he came home each day could be any time between 4pm and 9 pm.I was never able to have another dog after she died. She was so so special that I felt I just didn't have it in my heart to go through that sort of grief again.

That was such a wonderful experience with your neighbour. It is as if dear Luba was trying to let you know she is okay and is still around you. It so often happens on anniversaries. It's as if they choose a special day so that we then realise that what has happened is significant.

with love
jilly

Jilly, yes, border collies are truely remarkable. She was "off the charts" intelligent. That's so neat about her link with your son, I can just picture her sitting on the window sill, knowing exactly when he was coming, and letting you know about it.

How long did you have her?

Thanks for posting my favorite pic of your beautiful Luba, Steph. It's such a cute picture...it brings a smile to my face and happy thoughts to my mind.

__Jim

Hello Steph

I had her for 7 years. She was found tied on a piece of string at the end of the lane that led up to an animal sanctuary, she was roughly about 1 at the time. I took her to the vets to have her checked out. I remember his words. He said she was a crazy mad dog and it would never be possible to control her and it would be best for her to be put down. Huh ... so much for that!!! I was furious at such an attitude. Yes, she was a bit excitable and seemed very hyperactive. But how could anyone make such a sweeping judgement on a dog that had only been rescued from who knows what sort of a life the day before!

I brought her home, and within a month she became the most wonderful little angel of a doggie. She was loving, faithful and completely obedient. On our long walks I could call an instruction to her from 100 yards away and she would immediately obey. Whether it be, "lie down", "stand still", whatever it was.
Sometimes large mechanical grass mowers would be in the park. If one came on the scene I would call "lie down". She would immediately drop to the ground and keep completely still until I walked over and put her on her leash.


Her intelligence seemed completely off the wall and quite unbelievable to me. My son taught her all sorts of children's games. He had the childhood innocence of thinking that it was no problem at all for a dog to understand the concept of hide and seek, grandma's footsteps, being goalie during games of football. Pulling his sledge back up the hill to him, picking his one out of the 100s that were there. She always seemed to know exactly what her role was supposed to be in any game, and what he wanted her to do. Her patience with him was inexhaustable, and she was the dearest, gentlest dog imaginable.

Sadly, she died from a kind of leukemia linked to lymphoma, she was roughly 7 or 8 years old when she died.

Border Collie's are used here by the farmers to round up and control the sheep because they seem to be able to take instruction from great distances and respond instantly to whistles or voice commands.
With love
jilly

Jilly,

She sounds like a fantastic dog. What was her name? How dumb of the vet to just write her off like that. I'm so glad that she found you.

Yes, I've heard of border collies and the sheep. My boyfriend used to live in New Zealand, and he told me of watching them "herding" there. Someday we hope to relocate there. Maybe in 5 or 6 years. I'd love to get another border collie down the line, but I'd prefer it if we were not living in a huge city like now.