Did My Neighbour Come Back For Her Dog?

Last July 2002, my 32 yr. old neighbor lost her battle with cancer. She left behind a husband aged 32, two daughters’ ages 6 months and 6 yrs., and a tiny white Chihuahua 4 yrs. old.

The husband despised the dog and the older girl didn't know how to care for it. I caught on about late August that the dog wasn't being cared for. I would go over there and give it food and water and give the little girl lectures on how to care for a dog. It went in one ear and out the other.

I started making arrangements to keep the dog over here more and more, she really liked it here.

Not only was she neglected, there were obvious signs of abuse. I asked for the dog, I offered to buy it, I begged for it but I always got a negative response. I looked around for a gentle loving home for it. How I got the dog away from the owner was another question to be dealt with another time.

I asked EVERYONE. No one wanted her but me. Finally I found a friend who said he wanted the little dog. He was sure to give it a loving home and I would never have to worry about her again.

I had arranged to keep the dog 4 days a week while the owner did other things. This was so she didn't have to live in a small wire cage. It seemed like a perfect ending to a sad story. This was the 1st of December 2002.

The dog had been home 3 days. The little girl came over and said she was "walking funny. Her head is tilted to the right". My husband went over there and told the man of the house that he was taking the dog to the vet and brought her home. When I saw her I really thought she had a stiff neck. I thought a few days at the most and she would somehow make it to her new home.

I was wrong.

She had an inner ear infection that went into her brain. She went crazy on me on the 26th of December. I had to have her put to sleep on the 28th. When I took her to have her put to sleep, I kissed her goodbye and handed her to the vet. I told her that she was dead, that was it, and she could just take her. I paid to have her picked up by the city.

The next 36 hrs were hard. I started feeling bad about leaving her there. I saw over and over, her lifeless body being thrown in a dumpster. It was making me sick. That night I heard her crying and the next day I heard her shake her head/ears. Of course she wasn't there. By the wee hrs of the morning on the 30th I knew what I had to do. I emailed a friend of mine to see if he thought I was crazy but he only offered support. A huge weight was lifted off of my heart! I was going to call and see if they still had the dog in their freezer, go get her, and bury her!

That is what I did.

It was pouring rain but I didn't care. I felt really good. The burial is a story in itself with the rain, the clay caked shovel that became broken, the fact that I dug one hole, went after the dog, and the hole was full of water so I dug another hole with a garden claw and my right hand. Eventually, the dog got buried, I got showered, and I felt much better. This was closure.

January 2nd, 2003 I was sitting here at my desk as usual, looking from the computer to the window to the television. I turned to look at the TV and there was someone standing right there between the TV and me. I gasped out loud as I stopped short of my leg going through her. I say "her" because it felt like it was a female. It’s hard to explain, but if you have ever had blurred sightings, you usually feel it is one sex or the other. I looked up and noticed the height and maybe a lace patterned dress. She was white and cloudy, but in good form. The TV was blurry through her. She only lasted about ? second. I thought about it all night long. Who was it? It certainly wasn't my 1st sighting, but I always wondered who my visitors were and this was no exception. I couldn't sleep.

The next morning I was sitting here having my coffee and checking email as usual. I saw something move out of the corner of my eye and when I turned to look, I saw what appeared to be the dog I had just buried walk from the closet where she slept, and disappear into the bed. I don't know why this upset me so bad, but it did. I guess it was because I had just lost her and still mourned her death. I called my good friend and he consoled me like only he can.

After talking with 6 people about this, it is believed that the lady who lost her life next door came to take the dog and either wanted me to know she took the dog, or wanted to say thank you for trying to help the dog. What do you think?

EXPERIENCED AND WRITTEN BY JULIE CARSON
Haunted Watauga, Texas