When my boy Harvey was older, after he was diagnosed with
lung cancer, we would spend quiet evenings laying on the front porch together. I
would lay with my head on his back and I would read to him while running my
fingers through his fur. He would sigh heavily and stretch his legs out and I
could feel his body relax. The last book I read to him was The Little Prince.
The parallels between the Prince and Harvey were not lost on me. Harvey came
from a far-away land and taught me about life, but more so, about myself.
I then thought back to a photo I took of Harvey in 2019. We
would take long hikes together and on one hike there was a large boulder at the
top. Harvey would always hop up on it and look at the world below. He was on
top of the world up there. On his own little asteroid B 612.
The book ends with the prince saying it only looks as though
he has died as his body is too heavy to take with him back to his planet. He
states that all you need to do is look at the stars and think of his laughter
and it will seem as all of the stars are laughing.
When Harvey came to me from Kuwait, I was told by one of his
Kuwaiti rescuers that "desert dogs need the stars" and Harvey always preferred
to sleep under the stars and the moon. I will always look for him up there - in
the stars, and listen for his laughter.
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