The Honor Collar

Every time we removed  Bouzette's collar,  she always stood at attention, head held high waiting for it to be put back on.  I would have thought it to be a relief to feel it come off--a feeling of freedom.   In thinking more about it, I believe it gave her a feeling of belonging--that she preferred wearing it.

When  we bring a pet home to become part of our family, we choose a collar for practical purposes; to attach a leash and to add the identity and vaccination tags.  We place it on for the first time and we know that he or she belongs to us--that she will go where we go and live our lives alongside us.  And when we take it off for the last time, we know that she was never really ours to keep....
The collar, then, is a symbol of honor--the honor to have shared the love, the excitement, the devotion of an amazing pet for the time that was so preciously given us.