{"id":39320,"date":"2026-05-08T02:33:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T07:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidmcelroy.org\/?p=39320"},"modified":"2026-05-08T02:33:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T07:33:27","slug":"six-months-after-her-death-i-like-to-believe-lucy-is-waiting-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidmcelroy.org\/?p=39320","title":{"rendered":"Six months after her death, I like to believe Lucy is waiting for me"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been six months since I lost Lucy. I like to believe she\u2019s patiently waiting at the gates of heaven \u2014 ready for the reunion when I meet her again one day.<\/p>\n

I still think about this sweet and faithful companion every single day. If you\u2019ve ever had a dog who you loved, you\u2019ll understand.<\/p>\n

When I put the key into my front door when I return home each day, part of me still waits to hear the sound of her tail hitting the door as she realizes I\u2019ve returned.<\/p>\n

When I get up in the morning, part of me still feels compelled to get her leash and take her for the first walk of the day \u2014 something she loved so much. At night, part of me wants to take her for one last walk before bed, because each walk made her so happy.<\/p>\n

But I can\u2019t do those things, because the World\u2019s Happiest Dog isn\u2019t here anymore.<\/p>\n

I no longer have an excited companion every time I go on a short trip in the car. I no longer have a sweet and beautiful girl who looks at me with love and adoration every day. I no longer have someone who wants to lie at my feet as I work at my desk.<\/p>\n

It’s a privilege to be trusted with the life and well-being of a dog. It\u2019s an honor to win the love and affection of such a companion. And the truth is that some of them are more special to us than others. For me, Lucy was one of those.<\/p>\n

I don’t have any insight into the theology surrounding animals in the afterlife, but I like to believe they’re there, too.<\/p>\n

Because if Lucy isn\u2019t there when I die \u2014 and if some of my other dearly loved dogs and cats aren\u2019t there \u2014 I\u2019m not sure we could really call it heaven.<\/p>\n

I miss you, Lucy. Wherever you are, I like to think you miss me, too.<\/p>\n

And I like to think I’ll see you again one of these days.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> Here’s what I posted<\/a> when Lucy died six months ago. And here’s what I posted<\/a> right afterward to explain the details of her final days.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been six months since I lost Lucy. I like to believe she\u2019s patiently waiting at the gates of heaven \u2014 ready for the reunion when I meet her again one day. I still think about this sweet and faithful companion every single day. If you\u2019ve ever had a dog who you loved, you\u2019ll understand. Keep Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1x9iR-aec","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidmcelroy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidmcelroy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidmcelroy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcelroy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcelroy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39320"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcelroy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39325,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcelroy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39320\/revisions\/39325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidmcelroy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcelroy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcelroy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}