One summer day, my world collapsed when our dog was hit by a car. I didn’t know what to do with my grief, so I began writing about Angel. Three years later, this story has evolved into a personal manifesto on coping with grief, questioning my beliefs, and finding hope.
When I began to share my story, I found a large and gracious community of pet lovers who grieve as much over their dogs or cats as anyone would over a human being. In their compassion, I began to see a different world — one that included benevolence and support for every living creature, including ourselves.
I never had a puppy of my own; I’m not a dog person. When I was growing up my family had a 
series of huge, intimidating German Shepherds, the most infamous of them was Mike, who dragged the cement block he was chained to across the yard. It was my older sister who found refuge from our large family by hiding in the back of Mike’s doghouse when she needed to get away from us.
So I didn’t know what it would take to train a puppy. Only my husband didn’t bring home a puppy that Christmas Eve; he brought home Angel. She was a full-grown Border Collie, all black with a white bib, speckled paws and big brown eyes.
She had been abused by whoever had her before us. She was found dragging her chain that was so tight around her neck she could barely breathe.
She was also recovering from surgery; the shelter had taken away her litter of puppies. Basically, she was a mess. She recuperated curled up on the couch for the next several days.
The biggest lesson I learned from Angel was how to use my voice. You could not yell at her. Even the tiniest degree of anger would frighten her enough that she would cower, run away, or start to pee. So I developed a baby voice for her, a high-pitched, optimistic, Everything’s always great! voice that actually worked. It works for babies and little kids, too. You sound like an idiot, but your tone of voice can command a situation, and if you want puppies and babies to love you, try a gooey, bubble gum, You are the best girl ever! tone.
I wrote “Angel Someone” for others who are going through the grief of losing a pet. People who have read it say it helped them to understand the stages of their own loss. The questions that I ask in my own search for understanding, as well as the depth of the answers I found, create a soulful journey of transformation.
~Melissa J White
PS: If you have questions about the eBook, please email me: angelsomeone@gmail.com
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