"Blessed is he who plants trees under whose shade he will never sit.” I believe our companions teach us things that we may not necessarily understand fully in their lifetime, but will change us, and if we are honest with ourselves, teach us to the benefit of the next animals that come into our lives. It is also these animals who inspire us to dare to know more, to never stop learning and strive to be better than who we were yesterday. Every animal we walk with in this life brings us lessons, adventures, growth, and healing. Losing them reminds us that though we walk with many throughout our lives, they live their whole lives with us alone.
It is impossible to introduce Winter Wren without speaking to its origins. It truly started ten years ago, with a small Australian Shepherd I named Haven, and the journey she took me on. I had always been in love with Australian Shepherds, but knew they needed a job to be happy. It so happened that I had been in chronic pain since I was fourteen. I had a job for her, but it also meant I would be training a service dog for two years. I had worked with several dogs and read countless books on training, and did months of research before committing to this. Haven came to me in 2013, I was eighteen years old. If you watched her after our two years of training you might have said I had done a great job, but it was her. We were one when we worked together, she knew my soul and in true Aussie fashion would do anything for me and wanted only to be near me. She was an answer to my prayers. She saved me. I didn't focus on my pain, I focused on us. My favorite thing was to bring her to the beach, remove her vest, tell her she was off duty, and watch her run. She was the definition of joy. But she loved to work.
It was Haven that taught me I was born for this, whatever the day happened to bring. It was her that taught me every day was beautiful despite what we are feeling.
My condition is degenerative, I walk and do physical therapy everyday to stay the course and push through the pain, but it is not always enough. Haven was unable to physically handle all my condition threw at us, and it stressed her, so I semi-retired her. I took some time to let her be a dog and help others as a visiting therapy dog. She worked with me at home with small tasks but I did not want to over burden her. She was by my side through some of the worst and best days.
In the spring of 2023 she began limping. It was then we were visited by a tiny bird with a loud song, the Wren. I took it as a symbol of hope, a reminder of joy. Haven lost her leg to osteosarcoma. We prayed and I researched day and night. We stayed positive, her joy remained, and I began repaying her for all the care she had given me over the years. In the midst of our nightmare it was made clear for what felt like the first time, that God put me here to care for them, that it was not my battle that mattered, but what it taught me that could help them. I began going to school for holistic care for animals. The Wren visited us often. Every day we spent with her was a gift.
Haven remained her joyful and amazing self until the last. But the cancer had spread to her lungs. She had grown tired of the fight, and we lost her that October. Our family was shattered, as all who lose a canine companion, but I had also lost a partner of ten years. We shared in our grief, and we know we will never know a dog like her again, but her light lives in us, and we will never stop loving her. I would not be who I am today without her by my side all those years, she made a difference few are truly able to comprehend.
Two days after her passing, the Wren visited me to sing his song of joy and hope.
While the Summer Wren gave us hope and reminded us to choose joy, for we were born for this, the Winter Wren reminded me of all the days that Haven got me through, and even without her, that her strength lives on. The Winter Wren's song has given me hope for what is yet to be.
I continued studying, and became a Certified Professional Canine Nutritionist, Pet Homeopathic Educator, and Pet Master Herbalist. With Winter Wren I hope to honor all Haven gave to me and enhance the lives of our companions through education and herbal remedies, to help others understand that each animal's needs are unique, but through understanding the best nutrition and lifestyle for each, we can help them live the best lives as they share it with us.
The true Winter Wrens breed and live up 3000 feet on Roan Mountain. It just so happens that my husband and I took a trip there with Haven's brother Hawkeye, shortly after we said goodbye to Haven, as we needed a change. We took her with us, and some of her ashes are in the wind atop Roan Mountain. I had not chosen the name Winter Wren until months after, and learned this fact after its choosing. It seems it was meant to be.
