A sable colored Sheltie dog

 

I just got a mail from my family in Japan that my late mother's Sheltie dog, "Choko", passed away peacefully on early Tuesday morning.  He was 15 years old.  

I shot these photos at my mother's house in Japan on March 18th  2011, a week after a giant quake and tsunami struck the northern Japan, some 600 miles away from my home town.  After my mother died of cancer in June same year, my elder brother who lives nearby took "Choko"  and he had been well cared for by my sister-in-law. 

Since then, "Choko" grew old - at 15, a human age of 90. He was losing mobility and getting weaker every day.  When I saw him last time in February this year, he looked so frail that he could hardly walk. I knew that the end of his life was near.

And this morning, on the way to the West 86th subway station, I saw a small white butterfly flying around the sidewalk garden. And next moment, I saw an elderly lady in a wheelchair with a caregiver, heading towards me. The lady was hugging something on her lap. First, I thought she was holding a small dog on her lap. Then I noticed that it was not a real dog. It was a stuffed animal - a sable colored Sheltie dog, which looked so much like "Choko".

I knew then that "Choko" passed away.  Before even I opened the E-mail from Japan later that day, I somehow knew it.

Rest in Peace. I miss you forever,