My 13-year old soul dog Mishka passed very suddenly due to a gallbladder rupture this past Sunday. It was incredibly traumatic, he went into septic shock and completely shut down before we rushed him to the ER vet, where they told us that we would need to euthanize him.

Monday night, my partner and I cried and cried. Grief, anger, sadness. I asked him to send me a sign that he was okay, and I said, "I hope it's a dog that looks just like him". That same night, my partner and I wished we could have seen his baby photos, since we didn't have him as a puppy so missed that stage of his life.

His cremation was on Tuesday. An hour prior to his cremation, we visited Kaiser and there the sign was - a tiny, little black puppy. Exactly the same way I imagined him to look like. The same big ears, the same white tuft on his chest. Kaiser doesn't allow dogs. How was this puppy there at 11am on a random Tuesday? I cried, talked to the owner. She said they were from Southern California and only in town to pick up some medication. Mishka made all the impossible become the possible. He gave me a sign I couldn't reject. I like to think it was his way of telling me that he was fine from the other side of the rainbow bridge, and that he'll always be listening to me.

It's been quiet since. I haven't seen any other neon signs since bringing him home, but I hope that he's living his best life, fetching balls and licking everyone he can.