I have worked in the funeral industry (around the dead) for
over twenty-five years in many capacities.
All during that time, I did not believe ghost actually exist. This is Audio Stories with J. B. Simien and this is the Story of “A Sweet and Gentle Dog.”
Long after the funeral party had departed the cemetery, the
large German Shepard remained resting on the new grave. When I returned to work the next day, the dog
was still resting on the freshly formed grave of its former owner (I presume).
All during the heat of that August day, the dog remained
without shade, food, or water. The
cemetery grounds crew tried several times to drive the dog away. It always returned and resumed its vigil
above the grave.
It was a sweet and gentle
dog. I don’t believe the guys tried very strongly to drive him away and I think
they were secretly feeding him. After a few
days, we came to accept that the dog would remain there until he found a new
home.
I purchased some dog food.
Then I fed him and gave him water.
I did this every day (morning, noon and evening) for eleven days (even
on the weekends). I also ensured that the
grounds crew cleaned up his poop.
Then the grounds crew guys made a shelter for the dog in
their work area and adopted it as their mascot.
They took over the feeding and the providing of water. They even gave the dog a name, “Digger”
(short for Grave Digger).
Sometimes, I work in the cemetery office late at night. I’m the cemetery administrator. One of those late nights in December around
ten thirty pm. I went to check on digger
before heading home to ensure that he had water, food and a warm place to sleep.
As I approached the grave that Digger usually rested upon, I
observed and could hear that he was playing fetch with someone in the darkness. The cemetery gates are open for twenty-four
hours seven days per week because we have a watchman on site.
There is rarely any vandalism because of that fact. So, I thought that Digger was playing with
our watchman or some other late night visitor.
Digger ran up to greet me and dropped
the stick at my feet. I threw the stick
and Digger took off to retrieve it.
I turned to the person that he had been playing fetch with and
moved closer. By this time I could see
it was not our watchman Mr. North. It
was an elderly lady in a formal long dress.
In the darkness I couldn’t tell the color of the dress. It look thin, long and black.
I was in a winter jacket because of the cold. The elderly woman didn’t appear to be
affected by the cold weather. Digger
dropped the stick at her feet and she threw the stick again for him to retrieve
it. It was then that I notice that
though she was solid in form, she had no feet. She was hovering feet less above the ground.
I tried very strongly not to appear rattled
by my observation. Still I think that
my facial expression must have betrayed my rising shock; because, she asked,
“Am I the first Ghost that you’ve met?” My snappy retort in a weak voice was, “So you think that you
are a ghost huh?”
She didn’t answer my
question. She did say “I thank you and
your men for taking such good care of my dog Chip. When I was alive, he was my child. He and I were each other’s family. There was no one to take care of him when I passed. I am so grateful that you all have found
each other. Now, I can rest.” With that she embraced Chip (Digger) for a
long time. Then she slowly faded before
my eyes.
I’ll end this story by making the following personal observation. I have worked in the funeral industry
(around the dead) for over twenty-five years in many capacities. All during that time, I did not believe
ghost actually exist outside of people’s imagination. Now, I know that they do.
Thank you and take care!
