You know,
And I have this wonderful picture in my mind of when it's my turn to go,
Being taken to the door of the Rainbow Bridge and all of my dogs stopping and seeing me at the door and they all come running towards me.
Not just my personal dogs,
But dogs that I've helped by finding them another home and loving them until that happened.
Always joking,
Tell Jesus that he needs to have me a big old yard because it's going to be full of dogs.
So if it's my turn to go and my dogs aren't there,
He can just send me back because I'm not going where they're not.
When I tell people that I'm a registered pet chaplain,
They look at me like I have eight heads.
So the best way to help people understand and to make this more prevalent in society with the way that people love their pets is education.
To let people know that there are people like us out there and we have a heart for them and their pets.
And all the pet chaplains that I know that I went to classes with,
We all have pets and we all have lost pets.
I find I need my place to be,
To stand in the gap for those people who can't do it so that their loved one knows that they're not alone.
And to do something like that to me,
It fills up my heart.
So that's why I will continue to do what I do for pets and hopefully begin to do that for those who are sick,
Terminal,
Transitioning from this life to the next and hope that I am able to provide a little bit of peace and comfort for them and the family members who are going through this process of losing a loved one.
I was going to ask you for my own edification.
Sure.
So have you,
Because this has happened to me multiple times when I've lost a deer pet,
I call them my sweet little nuggets.
Have you ever had a dream afterwards where they've come to you and said,
I'm okay?
Funny you should mention that.
After I lost one of my little Pembroke Welsh corgis,
She was eight years old and she was just a little spitfire.
I mean,
She wasn't mean by any chance,
But she was just,
Let's just say she was extra and you know,
And I wouldn't have had her any other way.
I called her my little pocket corgi because she was only like 18 pounds,
You know,
So she was tiny and man,
She could run like a rocket,
But she was stubborn.
Let me tell you,
She was as stubborn as Jackson.
When she passed away,
I think she had some kind of heart attack or stroke or an aneurysm of some kind.
So I was going to have to get the vet to let her cross over.
And as I was holding her,
I remember holding her in my arms and whispering in her ear to go find Suri.
And Suri was my,
One of my other corgis who had died previously,
Probably a couple of months and it's happened more than once.
I have felt something at the foot of my bed and that's where she always slept.
And before she would lay down,
She would walk around in a circle and paw at the sheets to make her little spot.
And then she would lay down.
So one night I felt this little jump onto my bed and my other dog who was one of Callie's,
You know,
Sisters,
She jumped up and she started looking at that spot.
And as I felt the walking around in the circle,
I said,
I go,
Okay,
Callie.
And I said,
Thanks for coming to visit,
Find your spot,
Baby.
And as soon as I said that,
I felt something lay down at the corner of the bed.
And so I'm like,
I knew she was visiting and that let me know that she was okay.
I wanted to ask one last question,
What is the most unique animal that you have worked with?
Well,
There's one animal that,
Well,
There's a few,
But one animal that I'm not very fond of.
I know God created them for a purpose.
I can't figure out what that purpose is yet,
But I just believe in His wisdom.
Somebody asked me once if I would do a pet blessing on their snake.
I'm like,
I will do a pet blessing on your snake,
But I will not hold your snake or touch your snake.
You need to hold it and I will bless it from here.
I can do the sign of the cross as good as any pastor.
I've done pet blessings for ferrets,
For cats.
And I've had a few vets tell me after,
They said,
That is the coolest thing that I have ever seen.
I've never met a pet chaplain before.
And I said,
You probably won't because there's only about three or 400 of us,
I would say in the world.
It's something that I want to help change.
I want this to become as commonplace as having a chaplain in a hospice or a hospital,
Something like that,
So that people can feel calm and peace and at peace when they have to say goodbye to their pets or when they get a new pet and they want that pet blessed.
Thank you so much for listening to episode 57 of Bite-Sized Blessings,
The podcast all about the magic and spirit that surrounds us.
If only we open our eyes to it.
This really sweet and very meaningful episode wouldn't have happened without pet chaplain Janice Driggers,
To whom I'm so grateful for being willing to have this discussion.
I also need to thank the creators of the music used,
Music L.
Files,
Chilled Music,
Winnie the Moog,
Frank Schroeder,
And Brian Holt's Music.
For complete attribution,
Please see the Bite-Sized Blessings website at bite-sized-blessings.
Com.
On the website,
You'll find links to books,
Music,
Artists,
And change makers I think will lift and inspire you.
Thank you for listening,
And here's my one request,
And it's kind of a big one.
Adopt an animal.
Shelters are overflowing with cats,
Dogs,
Turtles,
Ferrets,
Any kind of animal you could imagine that needs a good home.
Already right now during the pandemic and as people get back to work,
Animals are being left at shelters in record numbers.
Those sweet little nuggets need homes and love.
I know it's a big request,
But on this show,
We dream big.
Thank you so much for listening,
And I'll see you oh so very soon for episode 58.
Now run,
Don't walk,
To your nearest shelter.
