White Dog

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My readers are well aware of the dusky canine that occasionally stalks the author. Most of the time he skulks in an eldritch realm far from my ken. But there are times when he deigns to enter my realm. He is a cunning shadow that lurks in the dark of the room or is wont to whisper in my dreams. And yet it is within his power to lope and caper by my side, if he so desires. O dark beast you test me! Note to self: Need more dog food.

This post is not about the flaxen-haired one, but this interesting tale/tail concerns my long-suffering wife, aptly named, Mrs Flaxen Saxon.

For the past 20 years, we have harboured fluffy white dogs of the Maltese variety. We started off with 'Chloe' whom we bought at the local pet shop when she was 4 months old. Twas mutual love at first sight and beloved Chloe became my wife's constant companion even unto the shitter. Not long after we acquired a Maltese pup whom we named Loki. A while later we gathered unto our breast a third dog, the result of the lawful union of our Chloe and Loki. Mandy is the hound that appears on the front page of the blog. Nature eventually took its course and poor Chloe died of old age about 6 years ago. Soon after my wife began seeing fleeting images of a small white dog around the house. If she looked directly at the image, it would disappear. We ascribed the 'sightings' to the underlying psychological trauma associated with the loss of Chloe- my wife and Chloe were incredibly close and Mrs Saxon found it very difficult to adjust to our dog's death. Over the following years, the phantasm become less, and eventually became no more.

In February of last year, Loki was euthanised due to kidney failure and four months later, Mandy died. Of course, we were both upset but it is just another part of life's rich tapestry. And as life continues on and revolves on the carousel of existence we obtained two further Maltese dogs a year ago. A father and son (puppy) team. Well, that would be the end of the story except recently my good wife is experiencing a reinstatement of her ghostly companion. Very similar to the previous manifestation; a fleeting white flash or soulful eyes peering down our long hallway.

I'm not well versed in human psychology although I did write a dissertation on the notion of Freud's concept of 'Reppresion' as an undergraduate. Clearly, my wife is experiencing a 'psychological trauma' that is being resolved by the apparition. I'm a rationalist and always seek to find a natural and logical explanation of so-called psychic phenomena. This series of events is no exception. I suspect as my wife heals the externalisation and projection of a figment of the mind will become less and thus finally peter out.......