sisters

Sisters
a journey of 14 years

Coco (in blue) and Annie (red) were born Feb.4, 2000 and came to our home in Tustin, California on April21, 2000

The personalities of these two puppies can be seen in these old snapshots.

Coco was the adventurous one, wanting to investigate everything; every new taste, texture and color. Coco was the mischievous dog requiring constant attention
but eager to please.

Sometimes searching turned into search and destroy as on many nights when our potted plants on he enclosed patio were upended and emptied one-a-night;
instigated by Coco but joined, I'm sure by Annie as co-conspirator.

Annie ( whose namesake sang " the sun will come out tomorrow") has a delicate and shy demeanor, doe eyes that predict a quiet and sweet disposition.
Annie with the two white feet is the smiling dog.

Kauai

We were about to set off on an adventure that would last 10 years; me, my husband and coco and Annie.
I guess this crazy dream began with a few fortuitous investments by my husband in certain unknown tech companies back in early 1990's - companies such as Intel.
He called this "the house that Intel built". But this is another long story that I may tell in the future.

We began by spending six months in Hawaii and six months in Tustin, but finally moved permanently in 2001; leaving on a jet plane just days after 9/11/2001.

These were busy times, and ten years came and went so fast. ( tell me where does the time go? )

My paintings took on the colors of Hawaii , blossoming with tropical motifs and the flowers of Kauai.

I taught painting and drawing at the Kauai Community college for 7 years, as well as at home, so it seems my hands were
always busy; cooking, gardening, jewelry making, as well as with my Coco and Annie.

Time goes by so fast but all things have a beginning and all things have an end. 20011 was our time to leave Kauai and return to California.
And so we packed up and moved back to Tustin, very near where we lived before. All of us were a little sad to leave Kauai.

We settled in and soon returned to routines as before; painting, art shows and walking the dogs everyday through the neighborhood.

That September the magnolia in the back yard bloomed profusely; but not all was well with our world.

Coco was diagnosed with an untreatable cancer. She got very sick and died quietly September 26,2012.

Goodbye sweet Coco we will miss you long and long.
Sweet Dreams

We could see that Annie was troubled by Coco's absence. She would sit and watch the door where she saw coco leave as if she expected her return.

So we spent a lot of time trying to distract her -going to the parks in Irvine; going to the museum in Santa Ana for the outdoor events and picnics
in the park at Irvine library. I now realize that this also distracted us for we all needed time to get over Cocos death.

Annie lived another year but she aged quickly. She suffered joint pain as many large dog breeds do. She spent most of the time on her bed in my studio.

After suffering for some length of time she finally passed away In December 2013.

And I was devastated. I could do nothing for days and days except think about Annie. Although I knew she was resting peacefully with no pain.
All I could do was cry over my memories of Annie. Every day I walked and walked thinking of Annie.

As I surfed the web one day I read of all the animals that were abandoned, by chance I came upon the website of The Moreno Valley Animal shelter.
They listed the dogs available and there were two sibling female, golden retriever pups about six months old. The next day we took a drive to see the
pups and they were so pretty and cute. I could only wonder how could anyone throw them away.

So we signed up to adopt the two sisters if we could. The problem was that there was two other families that had asked to take one of the two sisters.
It seems that everyone wanted the friendly, happy pup but no one wanted the smaller shy one that tried constantly to hide and seemed to be very
afraid of humans.

I spoke with the other two families and tried to persuade them that it would be cruel to separate the two siblings but it did no good.
The shelter decided that they would hold a drawing to decide who would get each of the dogs. I was praying and asking Annie to help me in this situation.

As we waited at the shelter I told myself that I should be happy if I could take only one dog home.

The drawing was held and my name was called as a final adoption family for both puppies. It was a miracle moment! Tears came to my eyes
and I was extremely happy and I couldn’t say anything except “Thank you Annie!”

While driving home I kept thinking of my Coco and Annie. I missed them and thanked them so much. We knew, though they are apart from us
they were thinking of us and loving us . Moreover they were sending us a great gift of two beautiful sisters. I confess I am crying again while I am
writing this.

The animals can’t talk, however we had been communicating and sharing with each other for a long time. I know they are waiting for us at
the rainbow bridge and missing us too.

A sincere heart knows the heaven and earth and even all the animals.