NORA, the one who didn't want to leave
 
Nora was my mother's dog. They had met at a shelter, when Nora was about two or three years old, and enjoyed many years growing old together.
When my mother died in 2020, a year after my father, I inherited the house... and Nora with it. She was already about 15 years old, and her physical body was in such a bad shape, that I was sure she was going to join my mother very soon.
 
Being of the "old school", my parents thought that dogs lived better outside, in the huge 3 ha. plot of land they owned, but one day Nora had confessed to me that her great dream was to lie down next to my mother's armchair in front of the fireplace; however, in her last years she had such an extreme incontinence, that it would have been a challenge for the valuable carpets. Everyone has their own values...
When I inherited the house, I removed the carpets and Nora became part of my pack, coming and going as she pleased; I was ready with the mop in the living room....
And the first miracle happened: in a matter of days Nora's incontinence disappeared!
 
She integrated into the hierarchy of the new pack without any problem. Although this was in fact "her home", far from fighting with anyone, she seemed immensely happy to be part of this new big family. She even accepted the cats! A few years earlier she would have hunted them relentlessly, but she immediately knew that Felix and Gaia were part of the family.
 
Another important change was the feeding. From the normal dry food she had been eating for 15 years, I progressively switched her to BARF (biologically appropriate raw food). It's never too late!
And of course, Nora was not to be outdone, so I also signed her up for our monthly osteopathy program.
 
And so the second miracle happened: the dog, who was on her last legs and about to leave her physical body, decided to stay!
After a year, however, her body, already tired, started to decline again. We did not know her exact age, but for a medium/large dog, a mix of Husky and German Shepherd, she was already of considerable age. Due to joint pain and lack of motor skills in her hind legs, I asked her one day if she wanted me to euthanize her to avoid suffering. 
She said no, she didn't want to leave, she loved our pack. So we continued...
 
Sometimes we are so immersed in something, that we don't realize that we are no longer well, we find it hard to let go, so after a while I asked her again. Her first answer was the same: "I don't want to leave, I love this pack". When I reminded her that her human, my mother, was waiting for her on the other side, that there was her original pack and she was not going to be alone, that this physical body was ending, Nora was silent for a moment and I realized that a change was happening... and it was then when she told me with conviction: "it is true, the time has come".
 
The same afternoon the vet came home. We all walked together to the grave that had been prepared in the pine forest, together with all the furry members of the family who had gone before her, and Nora lay down on the ground. 
And the third miracle happened: just by injecting her with the painkiller, Nora's soul left her body! The veterinarian was amazed. Of course she made sure with the second injection, but it was clear that the soul was ready, it had made a conscious decision. That autumn evening, the eternal soul of the former Nora crossed the rainbow bridge to join my mother.