On July 5 we went to the refuge with Momo, Lulu, and Ollie. We knew it would be Momo’s last visit to the refuge. Over the past few months Momo had been sleeping more and more, walking less and less. That week he had barely been eating. Just drinking water. He slept the whole time on the drive to the refuge.
We knew that as weak as he was, Momo would still be happy to visit the refuge. It was his favorite place! Back in the day, we couldn’t even say the word “farm” out loud if Momo was around. We had to spell it or else he would get all excited thinking we were going to the farm.
It was heartwarming to see Momo perk up when we brought him to the Water Lily Pond. It was like the Momo of old had returned to do his usual walking and inspecting of the grounds.
A few days later on July 11 Momo passed away. He was 15 years old. It was tough to lose Momo. I just tried to think of all the happy times we had, especially at the refuge! Those were the best. I was also comforted knowing that he passed naturally, cradled in my arms. A week after he died, I got sick with Covid and was down for one week. I guess that was my body telling me I had to rest and recover from the stress of losing my heart dog.
When I was better, we went back to the refuge to celebrate our wedding anniversary. It was so sad to remember Momo’s last visit. He was on my mind. Then I noticed that there were a lot of butterflies. At first I didn’t think much of it. Then a butterfly brushed against my arm at Big Pond. When I got back to the cottage I saw butterflies on the trees, on the small kamuning bushes, and even inside the veranda. There were butterflies perched on the window! There were so many butterflies that I thought, “It’s Momo!”
Tonji was out for a walk. He had gone out to look for interesting birds to photograph. When he got back he was excited about butterflies! He said that he had never seen so many different kinds of butterflies before! He was amazed by all the butterflies he encountered. There were so many of them! He tried to photograph all of them but couldn’t because his camera battery ran out of power. He wasn’t aware though that butterflies are a spiritual symbol of life after death, so he didn’t think of Momo. Whether or not the butterflies were spiritual messengers from beyond, it brought us happiness to see so many beautiful butterflies in the refuge!
Here are Tonji’s butterfly photos, with a few moths and a bee. Click on the photos to see in full screen!
Tonji and Sylvia's Wildlife Refuge 