I am going to share with you a letter I received a couple of years ago from a GOOD friend that I have never met in person, huh. How can she be a good friend if I’ve never personally met her, you ask? Never had I thought I would make a true friend on the Internet, but it happened. Her story wants to make you cry.

                         FRIENDSHIP ON THE INTERNET

It all began when I started a thread on the Football Board of my university. Also a lover of football, she was the first person to comment. We started talking about football, and then things got personal. She wrote about getting divorced and having eight children.

I wrote back about becoming handicapped with Multiple Sclerosis, being married for thirty years and not having children. I was forced to tell her not to feel sorry for me, so she told me about her physical problem (kidney). It became a medical discussion, always with football in it. Even though I found out she attended the top in-state rival of my school.  

  WHAT DOES ALL THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE TITLE?

I’m just laying some ground work so you will get a better understanding of the story she sent me. This lady in spite of having eight children had supported her ex-husband and still pays alimony. She is the top veterinarian in the city she lives in. It seems every business deal she touches works out very well for her, but it wasn’t always this way.

                           EXCHANGE OF PICTURES

Of course you never truly know if anyone is telling the truth on the Internet, she was the first individual I had begun a “pen pal” relationship. `Well she sent picture after picture, starting with age sixteen. At first I didn’t believe these pictures were of her, the pictures looked like the most beautiful movie star I had ever seen. She told me her ex wanted to send photos of her to Playboy, but she would have no part of it. I smelled a lie.

But she kept sending pictures of her and all of her kids as they grew-up. This was visual proof she wasn’t trying to put one over on me. One day I ended up having a conversation with a lawyer from her city that knew her. He told me they traveled in the same circles, but were not friends. He also said he didn’t know how she has stayed so beautiful all these years, BINGO! I had my proof.

                    HOW DID SHE GET TO WHERE SHE WAS,                                PROFESSIONALLY?

It does seem that hard work pays off in our great country, she is a perfect example. A tough childhood, a bad marriage (abused mentally) and always wanting to help others (especially animals). She owns a horse sanctuary and an Alaskan Husky sanctuary. She will do anything for an animal and as a vet she has.  Now I will share her story of why she became a veterinarian.

                          WHO OR WHAT IS GHOST?

The following story was written by her. I have permission to share this, but not her name. This is the story of GHOST.

 I have been trying to write this for some time now and every-time I think about it I have put it off, but today is the day. You are going to think this a story about the supernatural because of the title but its not. This is a story about a faithful friend, companion and the real reason I became a veterinarian.

When I was growing up I lived in the country and my parents believed that if an animal couldn't earn its keep it was of no use. We had a beagle that was used to keep wild animals away from all the chickens, ducks, and so forth. When I turned 12 she had a litter of puppies. You could tell by looking at them they were half coyote. When they were weaned my dad said to pick one because we couldn't afford to keep them all and make sure it was a male because he didn't want any more pups running around. I picked the ugliest one of course. He was long and lean, gray in color and looked exactly like a coyote. I named him Ghost because he had a habit of appearing and disappearing without you realizing it. Other people thought he was creepy but I didn't care. As he got older he stopped eating dog food and would hunt for himself. You could see him out in the fields catching mice or whatever he could. He would disappear for days at a time. One day I came home from school to find him lying on the porch with a huge gash on his shoulder. I asked my dad to call the vet; he said no he couldn't afford it. I told him to keep my allowance until the vet was paid in full. A deal was struck and the vet came. Yes he was a country vet who made house calls. He sewed him up and told me how to take care of him. When the vet had to come the second time it happened he told me that it would probably happen a lot because of his bloodline. He showed me how to stitch Ghost up and then left me with all the items I would need to keep taking care of him. Time after time he would come home to be patched up. He had a great will to survive and he knew I would always fix him up. When I turned 18 he had been my friend and companion for 6 years. He listened to every problem I had. He seemed to know when I needed someone to talk to because he always showed up. That spring Ghost drug himself home for the last time. How he got there I don't know because he was a sorry looking sight. He had been hit by a car or pickup I don't know which. One leg was broke and half the skin on one side of his face had been ripped off. This time I called the vet. He took one look at Ghost and told me he had internal injuries and there was no saving him this time. He brought out the shot to put him to sleep and told me to go in the house and he would take care of it. I started to go when I saw Ghost look at me with that look he had always given me. The look meant he trusted me to do what was best for him. I immediately told the vet I would take care of it. After all he was my dog. The vet handed me the shot and told me where to put it. As I stood there with my hand on his heart and tears flowing I could feel his heart slow and stop. It was at that moment that I knew exactly what I was supposed to do with the rest of my life. I went on from there and became a veterinarian. Later I realized that not only had Ghost put me on the path to my future but he had taught me other things as well. He taught me friendship, loyalty and most of all what unconditional love was. After all these years I would like to thank him and say the thing I had wanted to say that day and couldn't. R.I.P. my faithful friend because I know when I get to those golden gates your going to be waiting there to greet me.

                               DRY YOUR EYES NOW

This is a true story, and she and I are still close friends. I wish we didn’t live so many miles apart. Meeting a person like this would be an honor for me, there aren’t many!