It’s kind of a long story, but it’s pretty special to me. In 2005, my friend’s dog had a litter of puppies. The day after the puppies were born, I went to see them. When his family went on vacation several weeks later, I offered to take care of the six puppies, the mom, and dad. When they returned, they thanked me by giving me a puppy. I chose the smallest puppy. He was tan and tiny, completely unlike the others. I fell madly in love with him and he became my constant companion. Morgan cuddled his way into everyone’s heart, including my boyfriend at the time, who hated him at first. My family treated him as if he were a child, and he embraced it. Morgan was with me for some of the biggest moments of my life: my first house, the proposal and wedding of myself and previously mentioned boyfriend, another house, college, career changes, and most important, he welcomed our daughter home with as much love and affection as he gave to us. This past summer, we had gone on vacation and arranged for him to stay with a family member. While we were gone, he was attacked and killed by a much bigger dog (Morgan, being a 5 pound bichon-poodle mix, was defenseless). For the last two months, there has been a hole in my heart. I made the decision to keep him by my side forever … I went to Off the Map Tattoo in Easthampton, where I met Gao, and had 10 paw prints, one for each year I was blessed to have him in my life, tattooed on my right side. This is the spot that Morgan would cuddle up and fall asleep every night for 10 years. Those 10 years were some of the most important in my life and they were each a little better with him a part of them. It has been a huge comfort knowing that he is by my side, always.
I chose a mandala based on it being a beautiful spiritual image that represents the universe. Many traditions use mandalas to contemplate, focus, and to demonstrate that everything is impermanent and changing. Because of this truth, having my mandala tat reminds me to stay present.
