We met these lovely natured and kind hearted young ladies for a cremation of Bear, one of our doodles, who passed away at home during winter and couldn't be buried.
They graciously took him from us, all wrapped up in a nice soft blanket.
Some months later, our old fella Beanie was racked with pain of cancer and when it was time, we called the girls.
They set up our appointment and a couple of days later, with another nice soft blanket, we headed off to have Beanie put to peace.
We arrived and were told to bring him straight in to a room where they had already laid the nice soft blanket down for Beanie and my wife and I.
The doctor sedated Beanie and the 3 of us laid on the blanket, where we spoke softly about playing ball and how much we loved him and sang little songs to him, that we all knew and when it was time, this gentle sweet doctor injected him and within 3-5 seconds Beanie went peacefully and so gently, without even a sound, like watching the last whiff of a cloud, disappear into the sky.
It was a perfect death, for a very much loved friend.
We were taking him home for burial, on this beautiful summers day.
The girls asked us to back our vehicle up to the rear door, where they met my wife and I, with Beanie in their arms, wrapped in the nice soft blanket and they placed him gently into the back of the SUV.
It was then both my wife and I realized, that we didn't bring the blanket from home into the clinic.
Funny but I was wondering to myself inside, "how did they get our blanket from the car and lay it out for us so quickly?" my wife also wondered the same thing.
Turned out the nice soft blanket the girls so nicely laid out on the floor for us, was the same one we had dropped Bear off all wrapped up in those months before.
The clinic doesn't send the blankets to the crematorium. They wash and dry them and use them when folks forget to bring one along.
Turned out that Beanie went to sleep, all cuddled up with my wife and me, as peaceful as you could ever dream, on Bears blanket.
Bear was Beanies son.
Beanie is now buried beside his wife and Bear's mom.
Bear was the only one cremated due the winters frozen ground, but the blanket we put Beanie to sleep on that day, was the same blanket Bear died on 6 months earlier.
The girls had no idea that the blanket they'd so beautifully laid out for Beanie was actually ours from Bear's cremation.
To us the blanket was Bear making his dad comfortable for his last breaths and then wrapping himself around Beanie holding him forever.
The 3 of them are all together again.
To Dr Downing, Dr Favrel, Emma, Jenn, Sheila, Alyshia and anyone we may have missed.
What was to be one of our worst days, turned out to be one of the most meaningful and beautiful days of our lives.
Thank you all for being so dedicated to end our little buddies pain in such a loving and caring way, but to also ease our suffering.
You treat the family, not only the pet.
Incredible, with deep thanks.
Beanies family.