I was wrong, Dee did not need Maddie, not like I did anyway. And although they became fast friends and constant companions also, it was clear in a short time that we had something unique to share. We bonded immediately and while Maddie loved every living creature she ever met (except rabbits, she hated those floppy ears), she became my constant companion when I was around. By day she protected and watched over Dee, by night, she was my therapist, my blood pressure medication, my trusted companion and wise beyond her years. Living on close to 10 acres and surrounded by woods filled with creature both great and small, we never had to worry about Maddie. She kept to our property and made friends with butterflies and turkeys, squirrels and deer. She was one of the most trusting and loving creatures to ever walk the earth and certainly to walk alongside me.

She has been gone now for a year and a half and our new fur baby, Nahla does everything she can to fill the void that Maddie left. I love our new family member and while she is so different from Maddie in so many ways, she helps me get through some of the grief of the loss. But I still miss Maddie EVERY day and at times my eyes still fill with tears over the loss. She was a rescue but I didn't rescue her, she rescued me in so many ways.

I told Maddie as she got older that she would never be alone and she wasn't even in death. That last breath, the final shudder was firmly within my grasp and I held her tightly as she passed over the Rainbow Bridge.

I know she is waiting for me on the other side, she has to be. The universe could not be so cruel as to not let us hold each other one more time.

Maddie was an angel sent to me when I needed her most, she was taken way too soon long before I was ready. She lives on in my heart and in my dreams. She will as long as I can draw breath on this earth.

10/19/23 - I just needed to tell you somehow today that I still miss you after three long years and my heart will rise up again when I get to hold you once more.