Overcoming Tragedy

Watching the news has a whole new meaning to me. I feel like I can't breathe, waiting for the reporter to say something about my best friend. Every time I hear her name, or see a picture of her and the dogs, my heart breaks into a million different pieces. Walking down that road gives me the chills, even though I've walked that same path hundreds of times. Although crews did their best to clean up the mess, you can still see where each dog took their last breath, and where Gemily had been thrown, screaming and screaming. And Hari, where he had been almost torn in half, where he laid, being left for dead.  A majority of my time I spend trying to decide if this was real. I sit there and ask myself, "Did this really happen?" Are my best friend's dogs really gone? I was so close with them...will I really never see them again? My sweet Winry, who I had spent entire summers hiking with and the endless camp outs in the backyard? The loving no-tailed dog I'd order a whole taco at Taco Bell for? The little fiery red head who looked at me like she just knew everything? The dog who wasn't a dog. She was a companion. I loved her for how much she loved Gemily. And the feeling was mutual. Watching them was like watching two souls who were just meant to be. The love they shared was something you don't see everyday, nor could it ever be duplicated. And then there was Zury. Zury was meant to be a friend for Winry (although I really think Winry thoroughly enjoyed being an only child). Zury was an overpriced, clumsy dog with a bad attitude who was just the opposite of Winry. Still to this day, I have never seen a dog do a back flip quite like Zury (even if it wasn't on purpose). Perhaps one of the most cutest puppies I'd ever seen, Zury was a wild child. I can remember more than one time Gemily and I just standing there with our jaws dropped asking ourselves, "Did she really just do that?" There was never a dull moment with her, and I will always remember the dedication Gemily gave to that dog. The perseverance to make her who she was the day she was taken so tragically from us. I will also never forget Zury's stubbornness, kicking and fighting the whole way!  Yet somehow, everything was so perfect. They were my beloved Sassy's best of friends until the day she passed from cancer. I am so thankful for the many, many memories we shared. And I know Sassy was there to greet them at Heaven's gate; and although it was much too soon, they are playing together again. Knowing Sassy, she was also there to greet Bindi and Evie, even though they had never met. I'm deeply sorry that I didn't get to know Bindi and Evie like I knew Winry and Zury. But the vision I have of them now, is the sight I always want to remember. Playing along the banks of the river, running, chasing, barking - just being dogs. This particular trip was the first time Gemily's dogs met my pup, Libby Lou. And the last. They played and played, like they had been friends forever. Parting ways that day was bittersweet. I said my goodbyes to each sweet dog, and gave Winry a kiss on the head. They were so happy. Gemily was happy. Just being with her dogs made her who she was, and it is so hard to see her so broken. I will never forget Tuesday, July 17, 2012. I had waken up earlier than usual for no reason at all. I looked out my window and noticed the eerie weather. Why was it cloudy, it's the middle of July? I grabbed my iPad and decided to look up the weather. On the bottom of the page, I saw an article titled: Carmichael Couple Critically Injured, Four Dogs Dead. I instantly clicked on the link, and what I read made my heart stop. On the corner of Engle and Garfield at around 10pm last night, a couple and their dogs had been hit by a hit and run driver, the couple sustaining critical injuries, all four dogs dead.  At the bottom of the article it stated that the woman kept screaming, "My dogs, my dogs, my dogs." This did not sit right with me. I called Gemily. No answer. I try Facebook - maybe she's on the computer. Nothing. I decide to walk over to my grandmother's house to ask her if she had heard about this. Maybe she would go with me when I drove to Gemily's house. I had to make sure she was ok, but everything inside was telling me she wasn't.  I reached her house, which is next to mine. Not long after I sat down to ask my grandmother about all of this, and my mom walks in with my aunt and sister. Crying. She says, "I have something to tell you." "It's Gemily, isn't it?" I asked, starting to cry. My mom tells me, "I've called every hospital, no one will tell me if she's there. I've already been by the house, the neighbors confirmed that it was her and her boyfriend."  I need to find her, I need to know if she's ok! My mom agrees to drive me to the nearest hospital, as I'm desperately trying to contact her family members. We reach the hospital and I am on a mission to find my best friend. No one is answering any phones, and no one at the hospital will tell me where she is. I FINALLY get ahold of her sister, and she tells me she is in fact at that hospital, but that she is going into surgery. What stress! I know she needs me and it's going to be hours before I can see her! Leaving the hospital was hard, but I was on a new mission. Remembering the dogs, that's what Gemily would want.  We arrive at Safeway, expecting to buy some flowers and maybe a balloon to put on the street. I'm convinced the woman working in the floral department was sent straight from heaven. She went above and beyond for us, with such a sincere heartache for Gemily, Hari and the dogs. I told her my plans, and she made sure I was more than prepared to execute them. Seeing the corner of Garfield and Engle for the first time since this horrific tragedy was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was quiet except for a few cars, and I noticed the CHP across the street, working hard to find this monster who did this to my best friend.  My family and I laid the flowers down next to a pole which looked like at least two of the dogs were viciously thrown. As if waiting for a sign, people started pouring out of their homes and cars to place items they had already bought right next to our flowers. Strangers and familiar neighbors alike, gave us all hugs and cried with us. What touched my heart the most, the woman from Safeway just had to drive up there to give me one more hug. I had never experienced so many people who cared so much about one thing. It was truly overwhelming.  Although it didn't feel like it, an hour and a half went by before I left that spot. After talking to CHP, media and neighbors, I was sure this person would be found. It was only a matter of time. I've been back to that spot quite a few times since this day, and it hurts each time just the same.  Getting that call from Gemily saying she needed me to come see her at the hospital made me ache all over. I couldn't get there fast enough. Seeing her was so hard, I wanted to take away all her pain. Her face when she saw me was so relieved. I brought her a stuffed unicorn, which she said was soft like Winry. She was so tired. She kept telling me, "they're all gone. All of them." I just held her hand and told her I loved her. I sat there, sitting on the floor, holding her hand while she slept.  Her family informed me that Hari was in bad shape, and that they weren't telling Gemily how bad. I still haven't been able to see him. I want to hug and kiss him and tell him how amazing he is for saving my best friend's life. If it weren't for him, Gemily would have had the same fate as her dogs. Everyone who knows Gemily, knows that her dogs walk directly next to her, two by two, side by side. Without his push, Gemily would have received the full impact, but instead he and the dogs took the brunt of it. Gemily was lucky to get away with a shattered leg, although her pain and recovery should not be overlooked.  Hari will never know how important he is to me, and that nothing I could say or do would ever be enough to show him this.  After long days spent in the hospital, the week was drawing to an end. The culprit who caused so much pain and tragedy to my loved ones was caught, behind the wheel of the SAME car under the influence of who knows what. This would not have been possible without everyone's help. The CHP, the media, the citizens of Sacramento. All of you are to thank. This person can no longer hurt anyone else, and I have faith that he will be punished to the full extent of the law.  As hard as it is not to hate this man, Paul William Walden, my full attention is focused on Gemily and Hari. My thoughts and energy are focused on them recovering, both physically and emotionally.  Trying to be of as much help as possible, I agreed to help Gemily's family prepare for her to come home. This entailed giving her two small dogs a bath, which also included blow drying poor Penny the Pomeranian! We also decided to make signs to show just how much Gemily and Hari's families appreciate our community for their help and overwhelming support. And can't forget the oversized hospital bed sent home with her! It had to go somewhere, and so did all of the flowers! Being at Gemily's house was overwhelming. Everywhere you look, there's a picture of the dogs. Winry's calendar (she was Miss November 2011), Zury's medals from her dog shows, dog toys just lying around, their kennels out back that were decorated per each dog - empty. I smile because there was even a picture of my beloved Sassy hanging by the computer. It just reminded me how proud Gemily was of her dogs, and how something so senseless just erased them completely.  I held myself together, making sure I didn't cry while I was feeding the guinea pigs out back. This was not the house I spent my childhood playing in, it was a place I didn't recognize, a place I didn't want to be. My heart broke for Gemily. What was it going to be like for her when she returned home? I couldn't imagine it, and it made me sick to think about it. She should not have to endure this pain or face this place like this. I finished making sure the animals out back were cared for and said my good byes to the family. As I walk out the door, there was Winry's life jacket, hanging like it always had. Pink with white polka dots, the one she wore while at the river, the lake and on our boat rides. I lost it. I cried the whole five minutes it took me to drive home. Those poor dogs. And poor Hari, lying in the hospital bed, unable to speak or move. Poor Gemily, having to come home to an empty house. I wanted it to all to go away.  And somehow she has remained so positive, constantly reminding me how amazing she is, and how strong of a woman she has become. Here I am suppose to be giving her strength, and she's the one keeping me together!  I am so thankful to have called her my best friend for the past 18 years, and I can only hope we have much more time and precious memories to share in our lifetime. I know she will get past this, and Hari will come out of this even stronger than he was before. I can't wait for the day I see them smiling together again.