Was Kal-El a Miracle Dog?

I’ve never been one to believe in miracles. I don’t subscribe to organized religions, heaven, hell, fortune tellers, or the Bible. I believe in hard work and luck. Yet, Kal-El has made me reconsider the possibility of miracles.

First, let me tell you about Kal-El. Named after Superman’s birth name on Krypton, our Kal-El came from Buffalo, not Krypton. My older brother picked him up and delivered him to us, his adoptive parents in Seattle, via a Boeing 737 instead of a rocket landing in Kansas.

From the moment Kal-El entered our lives, he brought a spark that was impossible to ignore. He qualified as a therapy dog in Canada, and I still remember the first time he visited RCMP officers during shift changes. The hardened faces of the officers softened as they knelt to pet him, their eyes lighting up with joy. Kal-El had a way of breaking down barriers with his gentle presence. He also cleaned the floors of their cubicles of any crumbs that may have fallen.

He didn’t stop there. Kal-El visited senior homes, hospitals, and group homes for those with disabilities. I watched as children with reading challenges sat beside him, excited as they turned the pages of their books and read while Kal put his head in their lap. Kal-El would sit patiently, his eyes following their every word, as if he understood the importance of their efforts.

Kal-El had his own Facebook page with 661 followers and would write “Happy Barkday” wishes to his 4,600 friends nearly every day for nine years. His “Dog Tells Dad Jokes” series was a daily source of laughter, even if some jokes were met with groans. During the early days of cryptocurrency, he created a library of over 775 NFTs on OpenSea, though none sold. He later created 124 “Dog Tells Political Jokes.” Those didn’t sell either, but Kal-El never seemed to mind. He was always about bringing joy, not making money. And he couldn’t wait to make fun of Trump, Bush, McConnell, MTG, Graham and all other ultra-right wing nut jobs. Don’t get me wrong, Kal had many Republican and conservative friends and treated them with the respect they deserve. He just didn’t like the wackos.

Kal was an active hiker and backpacker. I’ll never forget the sight of him bounding ahead on our favorite trail on Cypress Mountain, his tail a black blur against the green backdrop of the towering trees. He’d find a waterfall and get into the pool at the bottom and cool himself off. He covered many trails, hiked in Oregon, and explored most of Washington State. His spirit of adventure was infectious, lifting my spirits even on the toughest hikes.

At the beginning of the year, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The news certainly gave our family a right turn we didn’t expect. We took this new journey and adjusted. It’s not a path we would choose, but we will make the best of it. As an integral member of our family, Kal-El never left my side. When I sat in my chair recovering from chemo, he was next to me, his head resting on my lap. When I was in bed sleeping, he lay next to me on the floor, his presence a comforting reminder that I wasn’t alone in this fight.

As the chemo took its toll on me, Kal-El started to slow down too. He became lethargic, slept a lot, and drank lots of water. I took him to the vet, who said he looked fine but was just an old dog with arthritis. But I knew something was wrong. A friend recommended a CT scan and more advanced blood analysis. The results confirmed my worst fears: Kal-El had tumors in his lungs, liver, and lymph nodes.

We put him on steroids, but it was clear he didn’t have much time left. Yesterday, Kal-El told us it was his final day. We went outside, but he didn’t have the energy to walk. He came back inside and slept on the cold marble floor, breathing heavily. He eventually went upstairs but refused to eat or take his medicine. My friend Mendel and I took him to get bagels and lox. He ate the lox but refused the bagel. Around 2:30 pm, he went to sleep with his head on my leg while I stroked his back while Kim reassured him. I told Kal the old Will Rogers quote, “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.” He was incredibly peaceful as the light went out of him.

We are so grateful to Kal-El for the joy and happiness he brought to our lives, our friends, neighbors, and the community. Though I don’t believe in miracles, I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that Kal would take the tumors from me to make me better. Or maybe he did perform a miracle as the last thing he did on Earth. Either way, I will miss you dearly, my friend.

Dad

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