Hey Mom, 🐾

In Spencerville, think doggy paradise but more epic! I’m brunching like a queen, surfing waves, and conquering my fears one thunderclap at a time. I miss you heaps but I’m becoming the bravest, boldest Shiba Inu waiting for our tail-wagging reunion. PS: Fritz says ‘hi’… in his cat-ish way. 💪❤️

Catch you at the rainbow bridge,
Shay 🌈🐕

In Spencerville, a little slice of eternity just a bone’s throw away from the rainbow bridge, the afterlife isn’t quite what I had imagined. Not that I had given it much thought when I was living, mind you – I was too busy relishing my favorite cheese sticks and turning every walk into a glorious expedition of sniffing and discovery.

Oh, where are my manners? If you’re reading this little memoir of mine, you most certainly know me – Shaylee, the Shiba Inu with wanderlust in her heart and loyalty as strong as the collar around my neck. I’m told I have a way with fur-friends and humans alike, though if you ask me, I’m just being myself.

Now, Spencerville is a pip. It’s where good dogs (and, begrudgingly, cats like Fritz) come to wait. Not to pine, you understand, but to flourish until the day we spot our beloved humans approaching, their silhouettes carrying every scent we’ve missed.

My days here are a cavalcade of doggie delights. I start with a jaunt down to The Bone Appetit for a brunch that would make any tail wag. They know my order by heart – a cheese stick omelet with a side of plushie playtime. I’ve got a bit of renown for my plush toy collection, you know, each one with more history than that one park with the funny smells and countless trees where I loved to play tag with the wind.

After feasting, it’s off to Brown Boxer Beach, where I race with Berkley, my erstwhile sidekick, who’s as lovable a coonhound as ever there was. We chase the waves, talk about the old times with our humans, and the new times with our new mates here in Spencerville. And wouldn’t you know, I’ve picked up a bit of surfing too, just to pass the time.

But this isn’t just a story about a Shiba Inu doing Shiba Inu things. No siree, Bob (which coincidentally was the name of that bulldog I met at Pup-Cakes – what a character). My goal, my raison d’être if you will, is to tickle that little bone of self-improvement that’s buried beneath my sassy demeanor.

You see, not every moment in Spencerville is sunshine and belly rubs. I’ve got my gripes like the rest. Rain is a regular spoilsport, and I’m still working through my disdain for loud, unexpected noises. Every thunderous roar of the sky or unexpected pop gets me scampering for a serene spot or a comforting paw to hold.

It’s this hitch in my giddy-up I’m aiming to mend. I’ve made a pact with myself, you see. I’m determined to grow, to become an even better version of myself before the grand reunion with Mom. I take thunderstorm therapy with a stoic Poodle named Polly at The Dapper Dog Salon who sports a rather empathetic ear and a coat that’s an ode to vanity.

And in my private musings, the kind I share with you now, I often venture to Spotted Red Beagle Beach. There, with the waves whispering secrets to the shore, I reflect. I think of Mom and the resolute love that bonds us, a love as steadfast as my resolution to brave the tempests, both atmospheric and within.

Oh, and Fritz, he’s around too – observing with typical feline aloofness. But even he’s contributing to my journey in his way, challenging my patience and empathy with his cat-like antics. We’ve become quite the pair, unlikely yet unified, sharing stories of our humans and warming to each other’s company, just as we warmed to sunny patches on the living room carpet.

So, here I am in Spencerville, prancing through this after-yarn, penning down my thoughts and frolics. Bereft of the vestiges of my previous flaws, but for a stubborn wrinkle or two, as I wait for the next chapter – the one when Mom and I are reunited, with me wagging not just from the joy of the moment, but pride in my newfound strengths.

But until then, I’ll keep romping, keep learning, keep loving, and perhaps most importantly, keep being Shaylee. After all, that’s who everyone is waiting to see again.

The End.

Share This Story: