Story from the Book: Lady Kiah

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“Michelle did everything she could for her beloved dog. After three surgeries and an immense amount of therapy, it was obvious that Kiah’s health was rapidly declining. Michelle was distraught. Her best friend—whom she had raised and loved for over 10 years—was passing away before her eyes.”


by Leigh Platt Rogers

My sister experienced an event that changed her perception of life and death. Michelle has always been a down-to-earth, no-nonsense kind of person. She believes that if she can see it, taste it and touch it—then it’s real. Otherwise, it doesn’t exist.

Lady Kiah (pronounced "ki-ya") was my sister’s best friend. Michelle raised her since puppy hood. She was a gorgeous Rottweiler, and my sister loved her dearly. When Kiah had her first litter, Michelle could not bear to give away all of the puppies so she decided to keep one of the males. She named him Sir Byard—after King Charlemaine’s horse—but everyone called him Bear. It turned out to be an appropriate name for him since he grew immensely large.

Bear and Kiah went everywhere with Michelle. Bear was the more difficult of the two to control as he never really outgrew being a puppy, however, my sister made very sure that both dogs were so well trained that they actually responded to silent commands. Kiah, in particular, was extremely intelligent and very close to my sister.

One day while the dogs were romping in the park, Bear spotted a squirrel—his favorite thing to chase—and bolted after it. Unfortunately, Kiah just happened to be in his way and he ran smack into her, bowling her over. The collision resulted in severe injury to Kiah’s neck upper shoulder. She was never the same after that.

Michelle did everything she could for her beloved dog. After three surgeries and an immense amount of therapy, it was obvious that Kiah’s health was rapidly declining. Michelle was distraught. Her best friend—whom she had raised and loved for over 10 years—was passing away before her eyes. Finally she could not stand to see her dog in such pain and agony and asked her vet for help. He understood and to make it easier on both Michelle and Kiah, he came to the house and administered one final pinprick. Kiah died peacefully in Michelle’s arms, covered in warm tears falling from my sister’s eyes. Bear was there as well and witnessed the passing of his mother. He understood his mother was dead after spending only a few moments with Kiah after her passing.

Bear and Michelle deeply mourned their loss. A large part of their life was gone and they missed Kiah terribly. Bear was despondent—he became lethargic and listless—and nothing Michelle did could bring him any comfort. She even had to beg him to eat, feeding him by hand. Finally, Michelle decided to try another tactic. She would take Bear to one of their favorite parks, about an hour from their home. Perhaps that would lift his spirits.

The day they went, she had to coax and cajole Bear into the car, a far cry from before when he would joyfully leap around at any mention of "going to the park." They left in the early morning hours so that they would have the park to themselves. Michelle could then let Bear off his leash and hopefully he might find some enjoyment and comfort at one his favorite places.

It was a clear, cold morning in late October. The trees were still covered in fall leaves, and there was a faint mist covering the grass. Michelle let Bear out of the car and watched as he slowly walked a few steps and then sat down. Her heart sank. It wasn’t going to work.

"Oh, come on, Bear. Please? Come on," she said and urged him forward.

She began walking and he got up and reluctantly followed. Suddenly, he let out a joyful bark and bounded forward. He raced across the grass and then jumped, rolled, stood up, shook, and then bounded away again, his barking almost sounding like laughter. Michelle looked around—bewildered at the sudden change—and tried to locate the squirrel or whatever was attracting Bear’s attention. Although she was very happy to see him like this, she could not figure out what he was so excited about.

Just then, Michelle noticed a couple sitting on a park bench at the far end of the park. The couple seemed to be loudly debating something and they kept looking over at Bear.

Bear’s size often unnerved people—especially when he was not on a leash—so Michelle walked over to the couple to reassure them of his harmlessness. As she drew closer, she saw it was not really a couple but an elderly Asian woman sitting with a younger Asian man. There were similarities in their looks, so she guessed that they were mother and son.

Before Michelle could open her mouth to say hello, the young man waved her over and patted the bench, gesturing for her to sit down. Michelle hesitated and looked for Bear who was still excitedly racing around the park. She decided there was no harm in joining them briefly.

"Hello," she said as she sat down.

"Hello," replied the man. He spoke in a strong Asian accent. "My mother wants me to ask you something. She does not speak any English. You might find it strange—but she has been insisting that I talk to you."

"Well, okay. What does she want to know?"

The young man said something to his mother in a different language. She jabbered something unintelligible back and waved her hand towards Bear.

"She wants to know if that is your dog," he told Michelle.

"Yes, that’s Bear. He’s big but he’s perfectly harmless if your mother is worried."

Again the man relayed the information to his mother who nodded and smiled at Michelle. She said something else and the man asked Michelle "Is he two?"

"Oh no, this is an old boy. He’s eight years old."

The man shook his head and, with his mother interrupting, again he asked about "Bear and two." Michelle started to get confused because of the side conversation going on in another language and the man having to go back and forth in translation. She kept telling them that Bear was eight years old—not two. Finally—shaking his head in defeat—the man turned to Michelle and said, "My mother wants to know if you see two?"

"Do you mean she wants to know if I see two dogs? No–no–there is only one dog." With the hair rising on her neck, Michelle leaned forward holding up two fingers and asked the old woman,

“Do you–do you see two dogs?"

The woman nodded, jabbering to her son. The man lifted his arm and held it in the air at Bear’s height. He told Michelle that his mother saw Bear playing with another dog like him but smaller–and he dropped his hand to where Kiah’s height would have been. My sister’s arms broke out in goose bumps and her heart beat fast.

With her head whirling, Michelle said, "But – but that’s not possible. His mother is dead. There is only one dog out there. Do you see two dogs?"

"No," he said, "I don’t. But my mother says there are two. She tells me that one is wearing a blue collar and the smaller dog has a green collar."

Michelle gasped, "Bear’s collar is blue—but how could she possibly know that Kiah’s was green?" She paused, "Maybe you have been here before, or seen us here in the past?"

The young man shook his head, "No. We’ve never been here. It was my mother who told me she wanted to visit this park this morning. I had no idea there was even a park here."

Michelle took in a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Her mind was racing and her head was spinning.

How is this possible? This is crazy!

Then her eyes fell on Bear, who was now contentedly sprawled on the grass—tongue out—breathing heavily from his antics. He looked like he was grinning from ear to ear. With her eyes filling with tears, Michelle realized now why he was so happy. He was spending a glorious, special moment with his beloved mother. It was at this very moment that Michelle felt an incredible shift in herself and her views on life and death.

Michelle now realized that Kiah’s love would always be with her and Bear. Something had led her to this park this particular morning where Kiah was waiting for them. Seen through the eyes of a stranger, Kiah appeared as real to the old woman as she did to Bear. For Michelle, this meant that Kiah was just as much a part of them in death as she was in life.

Eventually it was time to go and Michelle rose and thanked the two strangers. A feeling of comfort and solace had entered her heart with her newfound knowledge. She especially thanked the old woman who nodded, smiled and lifted her hand with two fingers up.

"Yes," Michelle told her, "Yes, I believe you. There are two of them here today. Thank you so much."

Michelle whistled to Bear who leapt to his feet and raced over to her. He looked like his old, happy, bubbly self, which gave Michelle a great sense of relief and thankfulness. She turned to wave good-bye, but the park bench was empty. She looked around, expecting to see the two strangers walking away but saw nothing. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. There was no one in sight.

That is just not possible; there’s just no way they could have moved that fast!

My sister glanced around as she and Bear walked to the car. Driving away from the park she started to wonder if the whole thing had really happened, but one look at Bear and his return to his former demeanor told her that it was true. She bowed her head and gave a silent prayer of thanks. She now knew that there was more to the world than the finality of life ending in death. There was everlasting love and the true existence of divinity.

"Lady Kiah" is from the book, "Then Along Came an Angel: Messengers of Deliverance", (c) 2005 Julie Bonn Heath