wild and precious life: a beautiful friendship

The transition to a new country is hard. Our eldest daughter struggled when we moved to Brazil. She had said goodbye to what was her normal, and to her friends. The new normal needs to grow and she was sad. The sadness on her face broke my heart. We knew that time would fix it, but watching was hard.

She asked and begged for a dog. We said, “no”. The timing wasn’t right. She continued to ask. Then one day the telephone rang, and my husband said “I found the perfect dog for our daughter, and he is adorable”. I said “no”, but he arrived with Charlie under his arm. He came into our family to fill a hole in our daughter’s heart.

Instantly, and I mean the very second they met, he was hers. He adored her. He loved the rest of the family, but he adored her. Her sadness lifted. Their friendship was exactly what she needed to move forward. To make new friends and see the beauty in our new life. She blossomed.

Fast forward a few years and we are returning to our old life. Sadly, he cannot come with us. The quarantine laws are so strict that he would be caged for 8 months to get him home. We cannot do that. He is a people dog. He loves attention. We all cried. There must be a way, but there isn’t.

The tears flowed like a river when I told her. I asked her to be brave. I asked her to think of Charlie, and she knew. In her pain, she asked me to take photos. It took my breath away. It felt as if someone had punched me in the chest. I couldn’t take the pain away, but I could give her that.

We found a new family for Charlie, one that I know will love him. They will adore him, just like she did. She decided on the family, and during the process she started to say goodbye. Little by little.

I am happy to share these images with you. Enjoy!