Anyway, today is the Feast of St. Raoul. There actually were multiple St. Raouls, and each observes a different feast day. But I am going with July 7, because 7/7 is easy to remember :)
Before leaving on long trips, I would tell each of the animals, while giving extra pats and scratches behind the ears: Be safe and see you in XX weeks.
When we got back to Orincles at the end of last August, White Kitty turned up the next morning as usual. By that afternoon, we still hadn't seen Raoul. I mentioned that to Pascal, who hadn't seen him either. Pascal took Sophie to the neighbor's to ask about something else and he came back, bearing bad news.
Bad, sad news: "our" sweet Raoul died in the line of duty while we were gone. He was running alongside his owner's tractor, as he did many, many times, and somehow got crushed under one of the mammoth tires. As I was crying and having visions of a bloodied Raoul, Pascal told me that he didn't suffer (he passed away very quickly after the accident) and his injuries were internal as there was no visible blood. I felt so much better knowing those two things. He's buried where the accident occurred, which I believe is the property of his owner. It was a sad, sad day.
Raoul's mean sidekick Diabolo still comes over, but he is old and snappy. I don't trust him with Sophie - I don't trust him myself! - whereas gentle Raoul helped Sophie learn not be afraid of dogs.
There will never be another Raoul. The evidence:
And I couldn't leave out this classic:
Raoul, you are missed.
1 comment:
so sorry to hear about Raoul...we remember him fondly
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