Well over a decade ago, in a place called Providence, an unlikely teacher came into my life. At that time I was alone, adrift, and badly in need of an anchor.

As luck would have it, so was she.

Over the next ten years, Asia taught me a thousand lessons about resilience, dignity, and the bravery of starting over. Her companionship and the protection of her fantastic, commanding teeth allowed me the independence I needed in order to become the woman I am today.

Asia is now running in other lands. I wanted to keep one of those spectacular teeth when she died, but that couldn’t be arranged. Completely devastated, I did the most logical thing – I went straight to my mom for comfort. Not only did she give me her shoulder to cry on, but when Asia and I left for our final trip to the vet, she slipped two pieces of polymer clay into my hand and said, “Maybe you can take an impression.”

•  •  •

And so the first tooth I made, so to speak, was Asia’s right maxillary canine. I wear a silver casting of it around my neck.

[ Soon-to-be-here: a picture with my mom & the silver tooth necklace ]