Dreaming of Dog

Mary found a dead dog on her porch one sunny Thursday. How it got there, and how it died, she didn't know. Her entire property is fenced in, she owned no pets, there were no easy ways in or out, and the dog showed no obvious signs of harm or trauma.

How did it get there?

After calling the authorities to take it away and begin their own investigations, she went to bed that night, still thinking about the dog. A good sized Labrador retriever with a white and brown coat. No tags, no markings, nothing. Just lying on its side, dead, on her front porch.

It took her longer in her slightly disturbed state to fall asleep that night, but eventually her exhaustion got to her. And she began to dream.

"Mary, thank you for finding me." A gigantic dog, towering over her and all of her surroundings, spoke to her. It was the dead dog she had found, now somehow alive and gigantic, speaking to her in her dream. "I want you to know that everything is all right and you don't need to worry about me."

Mary found herself speaking to the dog in the strange muted echo her voice always sounded like in all her dreams. "Where did you come from? How did you die? Please, I am worried. Concerned. It bothers me."

"Don't let it bother you. My life has ended, and yours can now begin."

"What? What does that mean? My life can begin?"

"You have lived a lonely life of late. I know it. I have seen it from afar. You fence yourself in and shut yourself off from the world. I am here to open it up to you." The large dog let out a few barks. Mary had heard barking before, from an unknown dog somewhere else on the street. "Yes, that was me. Watching you. Now, let my death be the beginning of your life."

A buzz from the bell at her front gate woke her. She hoped that it was someone important -- she had worked hard on making a large sign at her gate making it very clear that uninvited guests were not welcome, people trying to sell her anything should go away, and people trying to convert her to their religion can "GO TO HELL!", and anyone pressing the button that were mentioned on the sign got an earful of her screaming and threatening to call the police. Fortunately for her, that's exactly who was at the gate this morning -- was it already morning? The dream didn't seem to go on that long -- a police officer who came to notify her about the dead dog she found, that it indeed belonged to a nearby neighbor but it was not at all clear how the dog had died, or how it ended up on her porch.

She had invited the police officer in, someone who hadn't been there the day before. He was in his mid-30s and divorced, as she was, and the conversation turned to much more than the dog. Stories were told, interests, hopes, and dreams were exchanged, and at the end, contact information -- personal contact information, not just the number to the police station -- was also shared. A lasting relationship started that day, and every single night Mary dreamed of the gigantic version of the dog that she had found dead on her porch, the dog whose death and access to her porch remained unexplained. She never told Thomas -- the police officer she fell in love with -- about her dream. He didn't need to know.

In that dream, every night, she would walk up to the dog, pet it, and tell it "thank you." Over time though, each night, the dog got smaller and smaller, until one day, it was no larger than a puppy.

"You're going away", Mary said, with tears in her eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere. I will be in your heart. I am the love you share. I am everywhere." The dog looked up at Mary with bright, shining eyes and smiled. Mary woke up, crying.

Thomas was beside her, roused from sleep at 2AM from her sobs. "Are you okay?" His face looked a bit like the dog's. How had she never noticed before?

"Tears of joy. For the happiness we have. It was a happy dream. Sorry to wake you."

They kissed and both went back to sleep.