NENA, THE SHIH TZU. The dream Velva had about her beloved Nena was the answer to a problem. Velva had adopted her from an
underground rescue and transport group who had pulled her from the streets as a stray in Puerto Rico. She was about three years old, weighed only four pounds and had a multitude of health issues including a hernia, skin infection and dental problems. “She required a great deal of med-
ical care. I knew she had already been through a lot of trauma,” said Velva. “She had not been leash trained, but had impeccable indoor manners. She also never came into the kitchen as I was preparing food. She would sit in the doorway and watch me.” Velva believes Nena was well taken
care of by a family and somehow became separated from them. “She had the characteristics of a survivor—used to scavenging,” said Velva. When the two of them went on
their many walks, any little piece of food Nena found was hers—like a piece of pizza she found in the bushes one day. “I could never get the food from her. That characteristic never left her, even though I fed her well,” said Velva. The veterinarian called her a needy
dog, but Velva disagreed. “All she wanted in life was to be with me,” added Velva. Nena had a sense of adventure and they traveled everywhere together. “She was not a doggie dog. She would sit next to me under a park bench and observe the other dogs. She had no desire to be with them,” said Velva. Nena was most happy at night. “She
was such a sound sleeper. I would have to wake her in the morning, or she would sleep until noon,” Velva recalls. “Summers were miserable for her. She did not like the heat. But at night, she came to life. We would go out between 10 pm and 11 pm. We were like two night crawlers, alive and excited. We were in commune with each other and the night. Nena was my little ice breaker, attracting strangers. I made so many friends through her. She was a goodwill ambassador wherever we went.” Those walks lasted two years, during
which time Velva began writing in a journal, “Night Walks with Ms. Nena.”
54 THE NEW BARKER Ms. Nena. “For in that sleep of death
what dreams may come.” William Shakespeare’s Hamlet
After Nena lost her vision, she lost
her confidence as well. The night walks stopped, and Velva noticed a change in her little dog’s behavior. “She was sleeping more and eating less.” Suddenly, Nena died, without warning.
After 10 years of almost 24/7 together- ness she was gone. Velva described life without Nena as hell. “I felt horrible and just could not shake being so sad all of the time.” Velva had stopped going out and she stopped writing. Then, a message from Nena came to
Velva in a dream. “It’s as if she came out from underneath the park bench to tell me to ‘get out of here; get out of this place you’re in.’” Later that morning, Velva gathered
her things, including her laptop, and headed to the coffee shop the pair frequented together. She began writing again—reviewing and organizing the many photos of Nena. Her dream inspired her to begin working on a book with a message directed at children. Velva has turned a corner, thanks to
her visitation dream. “Life goes on. I still cry about her and find myself calling out her name. Every place I go I see her, because we went everywhere together. My sweet little ambassador.”
ALLIE, THE CHOW CHOW. Anthony Coppola grew up on a farm in New Jersey. His parents were from Italy. He was always bringing home stray animals. “He grew up and became a horse trainer in Saratoga Springs,”
Allie, with Amelia’s husband Russ.
after Allie passed, Amelia’s dad told her the dog had come to him in a dream. “Allie was sitting in my dad’s favorite
chair in the dream. ‘As plain as day,’ dad said to me. Allie spoke to my dad and told him that he was going to be alright. ‘Everything is going to be okay’ is what he said Allie told him,” said Amelia. Three weeks later, Anthony Coppola
died. “I believe my Allie came to my dad in a dream to reassure him that we were all going to be okay and that it was okay for him to let go.”
U
We will be collaborating on a book with Luellen Hoffman, author of the book Special Dreams and contributor to The New Barker. If you have had a visitation dream from your dog and would like to share, please email
anna@thenewbarker.com
www.TheNewBarker.com
remembers his daughter Amelia Torrant. “Once, in his late sixties, mother went to watch a race he was in. His cart broke in the middle of the race. He crawled up on the horse to finish the race.” Amelia grew up with a special
connection to animals, just like her father. Before Amelia and her hus- band fell in love with Great Pyrenees, they had a Chow Chow named Allie. “She was absolutely adorable and very fox-like,” said Amelia. “My husband and I had just been married for two weeks and were living in an apartment in St. Petersburg. We found her in a pet store and just fell in love with her.” When Allie was 10 years old, she was diagnosed with Melanoma
on her paw. “We had the area removed, but it had already spread to her stomach. She died in March of 2001.” During the same time, Amelia’s father was dying of colon cancer. Soon
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