The bond and relationship between a dog and its parents can occasionally be irreplaceable. If they are separated, one or both of them may suffer from nearly irreversible emotional problems in the future, depending on the circumstances surrounding the separation and the type of relationship they have had. This is especially true depending on how well they have treated each other in their brief time together.
This is the story of Beau, a German Shepherd who travels via twenty one trains and ten buses each day to an unknown destination.
Beau’s story is one of love and loyalty to his human best friend. Everyone who took the same trains as him knew they’d seen him come on the train for the past year if calculated effectively. Every morning at eight o’clock sharp, he would arrive majestically on his paws at the train station to board the train just like every passenger, and he would get off every train he took at the exact time every day for seven days a week, nothing less and nothing more. Then he would take buses in between to get to his destination(s), to which no one could ascertain where he goes, where he sleeps, or why he kept this routine for a whole year. Though this was a strange situation for a canine animal, people later embraced him, walking through the door every day, and they treated him nicely, giving him food when they could, especially those who take the same bus every day. After a while, everyone just acknowledges him and no longer questions his motive or mission. They just left him to lead this life, thinking he was just a stray dog that would one day stop this routine and see to something else.As time went on, when he got on the train, he took his seat silently, also going about his daily business just like everyone else, not disturbing anyone, and when there was no seat, he would lie down quietly like the obedient dog he was. Some even noticed he stood up for old people, pregnant women, and those he found vulnerable, and for this, everyone loved him even more and looked forward to seeing him every day. This went on for a while until curiosity clouded the minds of all and sundry. Everybody who knew Beau or had seen him wanted to know his story. Even the authorities wanted to know if he was a stray dog, but they knew that wasn’t the case since he had a daily routine that he had never deviated from for a while than a stray dog could muster. And so animal control officials were set out to investigate this mysterious case of Beau.
THE INVESTIGATION AND THE SHOCKING TRUTH.
During the course of the investigation, the officials followed his routine, taking the same trains and buses as him until they followed him to his destination, which turned out to be more than one and even outside the city of New York. On getting there, they asked around about who Beau is, who his owner is, and many more questions that they’d set out to answer. The outcome of the investigation made everyone dumbfounded and brought tears to so many people’s eyes. It even made the news because it wasn’t unexpected of a human not to talk about a dog.It was found out that Beau’s owner had died exactly a year ago after fighting for a while and later giving up to the cold hands of cancer. But before she died, Beau always brought her food when she could no longer move around to fend for herself or him since her relatives didn’t know anything was wrong; they lived kilometers away, and at the same time, she never told them because she didn’t want to be a burden to anyone, but she didn’t have to worry about being a worry or a bother because Beau was just enough for her, a blessing to her. He would get stuff at the mall and sometimes takeout with instructions written and worn around his neck and money in the plastic bag in between his teeth. The same way, he took what he had bought back to the house with the plastic or paper bag in between his teeth—something she had taught him before she got worse, so he would be self sustaining when she died. A few days before her death, she stood up, looking fresh and healthy, as if no cancer were eating her and threatening to burn her alive. She packed a picnic basket stocked with her favorites and Beau’s favorites; she held her side bag, and she and Beau went for a picnic in the most beautiful of the parks for the next few days, saying she wanted to show Beau some parts of the city and outside, if at all not the world that he didn’t know exists, so he won’t miss her so much when she’s gone. These places are the places Beau had been frequenting for the past year consistently and continuously because they held their most recent memories together, and he was trying to preserve them in his own little way and be able to smell her and see what they saw together and what she told him at these places.
Everyone cried, some knowing they’d never experienced that kind of in-depth love and loyalty, some simply cried because they were also grieving; and others simply found his story touching and least expected from a dog. As a result of this, some even adopted German shepherds, hoping they could get the same type of love.
THE NEW HOME.
After everything was unraveled, Beau was taken to the shelter to hopefully give him another chance at life, love, and a new home, but they didn’t have to because he had barely spent a week there when someone walked in and took him off their hands.His new owner, Miriam, opened the door of her home to him and made him feel welcome. She bought him a soft, cozy bed. One of the few reasons Miriam adopted Beau when anyone asked her was that it was because she had lost her husband a few years ago also to cancer, and she knew he knew the pains of losing someone you love and cherish day by day and watching them be in excruciating pains and also watching them dissolve until they were no longer there. For that, their grief was the same, so they could live to help each other heal day by day, even though the pain may never go away. They’ll still have each other to rely on. Miriam introduced him to her children when they got back from college, and they acknowledged that they’d heard of his fascinating story, and they immediately fell in love with him, welcoming him to his new home, thus becoming a beloved part of their family and the community at large.
Though Miriam knew she could never be the exact same person for him as his late owner, she would be there for him. And so their fate was sealed.
They had play dates, snuggling against each other on the couch to see movies and take evening walks just silently holding each other because both of them understood the silent moment they were having—they were moments of silent talks to the departed that they were in safe hands and they would never be forgotten.
Everyone knew, including Miriam, that Beau would never forget, but Beau would slowly heal because of the love and attention he gets now. His lone visitations were now reduced drastically, and when he had to go, Miriam took him to see those beautiful places he shared with his late owner, who was now a star twinkling in the sky and smiling down at them while also still making new memories together. He has found a new home, but her memories and their moments will never be forgotten and will be kept forever in his heart and spirit. Beau would carry them with him, as this remains a symbol of their unconditional love and friendship for each other because even in death, she still remains a favorite part of him, and even death couldn’t take that away from him. Beau’s story further reaffirmed the bond between humans and their canine companions and also made everyone realize that even in one’s darkest moment, one can still find a reason to keep living because life can always get better if one allows it to. Accepting that death sometimes could signify a new beginning to a different dispensation.
Miriam and Beau continue to live a happy and healthy lifestyle in their home, reinforced with a new purpose and a new sense of belonging somewhere with someone who loves them.