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The voice startled Joe out of his reverie. ‘Hello, Joe.’ It seemed to be coming from his mind, but he knew it wasn’t him, so he turned and standing behind him was another dog. ‘It’s time for you to move on now.’

Shaking his head Joe turned back to look at his body and his humans. They were crying, cuddling the body he had once inhabited, and he wished he could be there with them. ‘I can’t leave them.’

‘You have to. I know it’s hard, I’ve been there too, but if you stay… eventually they’ll be nothing left of you for them to find when they die.’

‘Dogs don’t become ghosts.’

‘Not ones that have been loved the way you were. If you’d been mistreated it would be different and right now you’d have a different choice to make.’

Joe glanced over his shoulder. ‘That isn’t something I would wish upon any dog. Every single one of us deserves a loving home, where we’re treated like a part of the family, and I’m glad that I don’t have that choice to make, but…’ He sighed. ‘Why now?’

‘There is never a right time. Not for us. Unfortunately your body is old and it’s given up, so your soul had no choice.’ The dog took three steps forward so he was stood next to Joe. ‘As hard as this is it’s a part of the job we’re here to do. Dogs, and other pets, teach humans how to live life and how to deal with death. Watching them say goodbye is always the hardest part, but they will find someone to take the place that you have left behind, even though whoever it is will never make them forget you.’

‘I know.’ Joe remembered lives he had lived before, even when he was a dog, and he was glad that he had found these humans to look after during his time as Joe the staffy. ‘None of the humans I’ve lived with have forgotten me, but I didn’t remember how hard this part was.’ He swallowed. ‘Can I help to guide the right dog to them?’

‘Of course you can. That is part of your duty as the dog who moved on.’ A tail wrapped around his. ‘We never forget our humans, we never forget who we have been, but it is time, Joe, for you to rest. Once you have you can decide if you’re ready for another family or if you want to wait for this one.’

Nodding, Joe wished that he could cry, that he could grieve the way his humans were grieving. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t been through this before, at the end of his previous lives, but for some reason it was harder this time… or maybe that was just because it was happening in front of him. Time had dulled the pain of leaving behind his other families, the same way it would dull the pain of leaving behind two little girls who loved him like he was their brother.

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.

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