Dog’s Obituary Goes Viral on Twitter
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The late Kenny Rogers song “You Decorated My Life” is a dedication to a person who comes into your life and makes it much better than it was. Pet owners can understand the feeling too well because even our four-legged friends impact our lives in such a massive way that their permanent departure leaves our hearts in pieces. We all grieve differently, and one woman’s dog obituary has gone viral after sharing it on social media. She never intended to make her loss an internet affair, but she does not regret it given the immense support and love strangers have shown her late dog. Here’s more about how the tribute went viral and why a dog is a woman’s best friend.
He was The Best Boy
At 23, Sallie Gregory-Hammett was lonely after moving to a new city, and worst of all, she was single with no one to give her the company she craved. She had lived with dogs previously, so having experienced some puppy love, she decided to take the bold step of adopting one for herself. Luckily, she found Charlie, a Golden Retriever who came into Sallie’s life and filled it with laughter and love. The dog became Sallie’s constant companion such that anyone who knew Sallie also knew Charlie. He even helped to pick the man she would marry. Although Charlie was a loving soul and never hated any of Sallie’s dates, the moment she saw how he interacted with Gregory, Sallie knew she had found “the one.” The puppy’s choice was perfect because Sallie and Gregory got married in May 2020, and of course, Charlie attended the ceremony.
A Special Thing for the Special Boy
Unfortunately, sometimes even good things must come to an end, and on September 13, Charlie lost his battle with lymphoma after a brave fight of five months. Heartbroken, Sallie did now know how best to grieve her loss except through a heartfelt tribute to her best friend. Therefore, she wrote an obituary for Charlie, detailing his birthdate, family, and hobbies. Sallie praised Charlie for loving everything that life had to offer, but he hated stairs. She had even ensured Charlie spent his last days enjoying time at the beach where he loved laying in self-dug holes or running into the waves. His love for picking sticks was unmatched, and now that he is gone, Sallie said that every time she saw a stick, she would remember Charlie.
Since Sallie will never forget the love she and Charlie shared, she wanted to have something to celebrate him. Therefore, she wrote a tribute hoping to publish it in the local newspaper, but the exorbitant fees drove her to write it on a mock newspaper instead. According to HuffPost, after sharing it with friends and family, they encouraged her to post the obituary online. She agreed and posted it on Twitter, where it received such an overwhelmingly positive response. So far, the post has garnered 112.6K likes and has been retweeted 14.1K times.
Since she asked those who read the tribute to shower their puppies with love instead of sending her flowers, pup owners responded with pictures of their dogs that had also passed away. Those that did not have dogs could not help but say how much they loved Charlie even in absentia. Sallie appreciated the thousands of likes but what she is most happy about are the replies that make her feel that she is not alone. Besides, Charlie has been celebrated by people who never even met him, and it is such a special thing for her special boy.
Men Too Can Be Emotional about their Dog’s Demise
Whoever said that men are not usually in touch with their emotions had never seen a man lose his best friend. A tribute published by Scary Mommy will have you know that sometimes, even grown men cry. Gregg Favre, a firefighter, wrote in his tribute to his beloved dog, Bella, that he had rescued her in 2008. From then on, the two had become inseparable, spending every waking moment together. The bond between them was so strong that the lyrics to “When You Say Nothing at All” exemplified their relationship. Gregg explained that they would communicate with mere glances and nods. He added that weeks were not long enough to tell how much he loved to Bella. However, love and loss go hand in hand, and he was happy to have built his own brand of joy with Bella. Just when you think that it cannot get any more emotional, Gregg shared a video that captured Bella’s life and read a poem written by Daniel Titz and Dorian Lebherz. It was Gregg’s habit to read the poem to Bella, and when she lay in his arms, about to breathe her last, once again, he quoted a part of the poem “heart to chest,” for the last time.
Study Shows Dogs are a Woman’s Best Friend
Although it is said that dogs are a man’s best friend with “man” being gender-neutral, a 2019 study concluded dogs are a woman’s best friend, not a man’s. The study evaluated 18 dogs, hoping to determine if humans can understand the reason behind a dog’s growl. Consequently, the dogs were subjected to different situations, and 40 humans comprising both females and males, were asked to identify what the growls meant. Of the 63% who answered correctly, most were women. The lead author, Tamas Farago, explained that women are more empathetic and could better understand the dogs’ vocalization. Tamas further clarified that since human brains are similar to canines’, women are better placed to correctly identify each vocalization’s meaning because they are in touch with their emotions. To cement this study’s findings, another one conducted in 2018 concluded that women sleep better beside their dogs than with their human partners because dogs offer more comfort and security.
