Dave Hogan of Dove Chauffeur Drive reads his inspiring story “And We Think We Know”. Dave is a member of the Kinvara Writers’ Group in County Galway, Ireland. This is an episode of our podcast.
What you’ll hear
- Dave’s touching account of a family he was driving around Ireland
Mentioned in the show
- Dave’s blog – read Dave’s accounts with photos of his travels around Ireland. Feel free to get in contact with Dave there, especially if you are considering a chauffeur tour of Ireland.
- Knock shrine, County Mayo
- Listen back to Episode 044 of the Bitesize Irish Gaelic Podcast, where Dave shared his background and upbringing.
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Eoin
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1 thought on ““And We Think We Know” by Dave Hogan (Ep. 46)”
Eoin and Dave,
This post doesn’t have much to do with learning Irish, but it is about an Irish Setter. I just listened to your very moving podcast about the Shrine at Knock and Baby Ruth. I had to write to you right away, because I *know* there are miracles for dogs, and for the people who love them.
This is a very personal story, so I’m a little nervous putting it out there, but here goes:
Five years ago my infant grandson passed away at the age of 15 weeks. The grief his entire family went through was intense, consuming, and constant. During those long, sorrowful days my constant companion was my beautiful Irish Setter, Annabelle. I had adopted her as a rescue 7 years before, and while I bond with all my animals (being very much a dog person), the bond with Annabelle was instantly very strong. From the first day it was as though she could read my mind. And during the months after Jamie’s death, I could always count on her to snuggle up close to me whenever I simply needed to cry. I don’t know what I would have done without her.
About 2 months after we lost Jamie, I got the news from the vet that Annabelle had several cancerous tumors in her lung, and the prognosis didn’t look good. I was devastated. I was already having difficulty with faith and believing in God’s love after the baby’s death, and now I was going to lose my dog too, and so soon after? After many xrays and an MRI to confirm the tumors, We scheduled surgery for Annabelle, and in the days between the diagnosis and the surgery, my constant thought was, “Please, please, please God. Not my dog. Not now. Please let her be ok. I still need her.” We took Annabelle to the surgery center, and went home to wait. About an hour after we dropped her off, my phone rang. I knew the surgery couldn’t possibly be over, and I feared the worst. Had they gotten inside and discovered the cancer was too widespread for surgery? Had Annabelle died on the table? I answered my phone, and braced myself. It was the vet, and he was saying, “Renee, I don’t exactly know how to tell you this. Perhaps you should sit down. After giving Annabelle anesthesia we ran another routine x-ray to make sure there were no changes in the tumors…….and they’re gone. There is no sign of them at all. I don’t understand this, but they’ve disappeared. She’s prepped and ready for surgery, but there’s no longer a reason to do surgery!”
Annabelle has left us now. Four years after her “miracle”, cancer returned to her lungs, and the end came quickly, without much suffering. Just before the vet gave her the shot to put her to sleep forever, with all of our family gathered around her in our living room, I whispered in her ear to go find Jamie, and stay with him and wait for me. I know in my heart they are together.
So, why do I think my dog was diagnosed with cancer, and that the cancer disappeared suddenly, with no explanation? I believe that God wanted to show me in a way I could understand that prayers are truly answered, and that He loves me, and that Belle was a gift from Him to help me through the grief. When the time finally came for her to go, I was stronger, and although I was heartbroken, it was ok for her to go. So, yes, Dave, I believe there are miracles for dogs, but especially for the people who love them.
After your last podcast, I discussed with my husband the idea of hiring you to drive us when we visit Ireland, and was delighted and surprised that he thought it was a brilliant idea! So we’ll be meeting up with you sometime in the future (next summer, perhaps?), and maybe you can show me the shrine at Knock! 🙂