My Guardian Angel 
by Norma Beech

Divot is my guardian angel. Five years ago, and for a few years before that, my husband and I were Divot’s next door neighbors.  We could always count on Divot meeting us at the fence in the morning to see us off to work, and she was guaranteed to be in the same spot to greet us coming home.

My husband had cut a small hole in the six foot fence that divided our two yards; we called it the “Divot window”, because it was from there that she would rest her paws on the small shelf and visit with us. One day in January of 2007, I had to leave work for a medical appointment with my doctor.  The doctor’s office was just a couple of blocks away from our home.  At that appointment, my doctor broke the frightening news to me that I had breast cancer.  It was a typical sunny winter day in Calgary and on my way home I decided to walk down the back alleys for fear that someone would see me crying behind my sunglasses.  

When I opened the back gate to our yard, the first individual that I encountered was Divot, waiting for me at the Divot window. Now, Divot was always full of energy, and not one to stay still for very long.  But on this bright January day, when I approached her, she was uncharacteristically calm.  I wrapped my arms around her neck, buried my face in her silky fur coat, and cried.  She waited until I was finished and then she licked my tear-stained face clean.  Divot and I continued to have these special visits throughout my treatment. Following the completion of my treatment, my husband and I moved away from Calgary and drove across the country to live and work in Ottawa.  

Divot’s mom and dad, Shelley and Doug, gifted us with a beautiful framed picture of Divot posing on St. George’s hill, not far from our Bridgeland homes.  I now keep this picture of my guardian angel in my office at work… My guardian angel is with me always!