Did Syau Say Goodbye to This World?

Was this a sign?

© Dennett ~ Syau ~ 2026

My dog Syau was 17 years and two months old when she passed on Friday. She was mostly blind, due to cataracts, and mostly deaf. For several months, she was navigating life through her sense of smell. When we walked, she held her head down, close to the earth, smelling her way along the sidewalk or through the grass.

Recently, she had the habit of stopping suddenly, particularly when we were opposite a small neighborhood pond. She would plant herself solidly on the sidewalk and refuse to move, holding her head in a neutral position, neither high nor near the earth. She would “look” in the direction of the pond across the street, her nose sniffing the air. I wondered if she remembered when we used to walk by the pond. (We had stopped crossing the street on our walks because the traffic was speedy, she was slow, and we were almost run over three times.) She’d stay like that for a minute or so and then, slowly turn back in the direction of home.

On our last walk Friday morning (I didn’t know it was our last walk. I didn’t know she only had a few hours left to live.), she stopped, as usual, and turned toward the pond, but that time, she lifted her head high and turned it from side to side, as if taking in the view. But, of course, she couldn’t see, yet it seemed as if she could, as if she was observing the scene before her.

I was mesmerized. What was she doing? What was she thinking?

Then, a thought popped into my head:

She’s saying goodbye to this place, goodbye to the world.

I immediately chastised myself for thinking that. What was wrong with me? Syau was doing okay, the same as she had been for weeks. Why would she be saying goodbye to anything? She has more living to do — doesn’t she?

After a minute or so, she lowered her head and dutifully followed me home.

Within three hours, she would not be doing well following a seizure, and I would make the decision that it was time to let her go. A decision I didn’t expect to make that day.

Now I wonder if she had a premonition that her time here was down to a few hours. I wonder if she really was saying goodbye to this place, to the world.

Is it possible for a dog to have a premonition? I can’t answer that, and I know this sounds very woo-woo and magical, but maybe she was saying goodbye, and maybe it was a sign for me.

Speaking of signs, I’ll write more about them later.

I miss you so much, Syau.

© Dennett 2026