Hello again! Over the years, many of you have read some of the 403 stories that have been written about my bestie Galan Siki Cota Chihuahua. For those of you who do not know, Sikiboy is a 10-inch tall, tan & white, dear head Chihuahua. After we enjoyed a lot of adventures on earth, he died on August 26, 2023. While he was only 10 ½, he had been in an accident with a car about four years ago. Even though Dr. Rico was able to save his life then, he told me that there was a lot of damage, and it might shorten Galan's life as a result.
Sikiboy and I had a tremendous bond between us. We went everywhere that we could, together. We took several cross-country road trips. Once, we were on a kayak on the Bay of San Quintin. We also rode a sailboat for 32 hours from San Quintin to Ensenada.
While dogs were not allowed in the Autotransportes Baja California buses that traveled up and down the Baja peninsula, the drivers made an exception for Galanito. He was always well-behaved, small, cute and also fit in a duffle bag that was set up for his travel.
When I came home from my first day of work at Clay Cooley Nissan and found out that Sikiboy had died, I was devastated. But, our bond was so strong that his spirit has been my companion ever since. These are just some of his activities since his spirit was released:
1. His favorite blanket has a Chihuahua-size, donut-shaped impression on it. I have refolded this blanket three times and it still has the same familiar look afterwards. Now, out of respect, I just do not disturb it at all.
2. Galanito always brought some of the same woodsy smell home with him after our daily walk. Since his passing, I would smell this odor at different times in my room, bathroom, vehicle and in my office at work. Usually, I would not smell it for days and then there it was again. Sometimes when I am driving someplace, I would call out to him, within seconds he would answer – followed by the familiar smell.
3. At work, I made a little space to honor him with a card that had an inked impression of his nose and paws. I would also place a little plate in front of it. This Was to honor the fact that every time I ate something when we were together, I would offer him a small bite of it. Sometimes he wouldn't eat it, but I honored him enough to offer it. Whatever I ate at work, I would carefully place a tiny amount of it in a small plate in front of the card. I would also carefully angle the memorial card at an angle so that it would not fall forward. Sometimes, it would fall forward anyway, as if it was trying to eat the food.
4. When he was alive, Sikiboy was legendary for falling asleep precisely at 8:30 pm. In fact, I have a cute photo of him doing this at a supper party, where he literally went completely limp in my arms right at 8:30. Most nights, he slept with me. Generally, he slept below the covers. However, If he got too hot or had the urge to stay up and protect me, he would rest above the blankets. Under the blankets, he would usually sleep with a part of his body touching mine. The best way to describe it was when a child placed a hand on his mother's body so that he would know it when she moved. Sikiboy usually slept between my legs if I was sleeping on my back or in the small of my back if I was on my side.
So one night when I was sleeping on my back, I stretched my left foot out and to the left and smacked into what felt like a small mound. Except, there was nothing there. When my Chihuahua slept above the covers, he would always go to the lower left of the bed and sleep diagonally opposite of where my head was. Also, sometimes when I slept on my side, Galan would sleep in the small of my back. Several nights ago as I was waking up, I felt pressure at the small of my back. I smiled knowing that he was still on the job protecting me.
5. It is said by some that we see spirits as flashes along our peripheral vision. I think that most of us have experienced this at one time or another. Sometimes they even cause us to turn our head in the direction of the flash. When I grew up on a farm, I used to see these flashes a lot. Maybe they were the spirits of the many animals who lived and died there. Speaking of this small rural community, When I visited family and friends in Virginia, Illinois, I used to see these flashes sometimes when I was staying in the house of a friend.
With Sikiboy, I've seen flashes in my bedroom, in my office, and as I go on long walks. I generally know it is Galan because there is another clue connected with it too. He never wants me to think that it is anything else but him. Also, there have been a few times that I have seen images of him, but these were a handful of times and only for a split second.
6. Sometimes Sikiboy would use one of my high-tech devices to let me know that he was around. For instance, there is a sensor in each of the seats of the 2023 Altima that I own. Several weeks ago, as I was driving through Dallas to visit some old friends, a chime went off in the car letting me know that a seat belt was not engaged. By all appearances, there was no one in the car except for me.
However, the car was indicating that it sensed that someone or something was in the front passenger seat. This also happened during my trip to the California's several days ago. During our car rides, this was one of two seats in the car that Sikiboy enjoyed riding in. That is, when he wasn't looking out the window using my arm while I was driving! In both cases, the minute I fastened the seat belt, the chime stopped. (Yes, I have had the seat sensors checked and they are working fine.)
7. Galan and I do communicate back and forth, too. Just like when he was alive, he'd let me know when I was on my computer too much and he wanted to go for a walk. Back then, he would stare while sitting beside the computer screen. If I didn't move fast enough for him, he'd walk over and gingerly put my hand in his mouth and pull it away from the keyboard. Another favorite time he likes to communicate is just before I eat lunch or a snack at work. He'd generally remind me that it was supposed to be pizza day, and he expected the first morsel on his plate. While I think that it is sign of respect for me to do that, at the end of the day when I went to throw it away, there was shrinkage, lol. At least, that is what I thought it was.
From everything I know, we will not be eating or drinking in Heaven. But, maybe Galanito is operating under the same rule as "If it's in a different zip code, state or country, it is permissible." Or, maybe it is the same philosophy as "when in Rome, do as the Roman's do"? As in, when on earth, do as the humans and the animals do?
Another example of our communication is what I already stated before. When I drive along in the car and call out his name, generally tinged with sadness or even anguish, he has always answered my call. Dogs know what it is to be more humans than some humans that I know!
Now before you think that I am totally crazy, study all of this for yourselves because there is a lot on the internet about it. You will find that I am not the only one who has experienced a continuation in relationship with an animal like I have had with this great Chihuahua.
But it also makes me feel sad for all of the pets that didn't have a strong bond with their human caretakers. I like to think that Saints like Francis of Assisi are responsible for connecting great and loving human spirits that are in Heaven with animals that need that extra love. Unfortunately, sometimes there are humans that were mean to their pets as well. Generally, it is true that if a person disrespects and even hurts an animal, in time, he will also disrespect and cause pain to another human being. Fortunately, these damaged individuals are few and far between and hopefully will see the error of their ways in the future.
Anyway, I need to bring this to a close because Sikiboy wants to go for a long walk. Afterwards he has asked me to go to the Dulceria and buy a huge bag of the tortilla chips that he and Onyx Schnauzer enjoyed together in the past. In fact, Galanito just reminded me again that what happens on earth stays on earth!
Until next time!
Anthony Cota
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