Model-actress Coleen Garcia revealed on Instagram that she had to cope with a tragic loss during her wedding.
In an Instagram post uploaded on April 30, Garcia said that Bambi, her dog and loyal companion of 17 years, passed away on her wedding day.
Garcia said on her post that Bambi was given to her as a gift when she was only 9 years old, and ever since, she has considered Bambi as her guardian angel because her dog was the “most constant and consistent partner [she has] ever had in [her] life.”
“Only a handful of people know what I’ve been through in my life, and all of them know the role that Bambi has played in it. I could tell countless stories about her, and almost everyone who’s known me for a long time has probably already met her,” Garcia wrote.
“I always told her, ever since I was a little girl, to never leave my side until the day I get married. Over and over,” she added.
Bambi was able to hold on to that promise but only for a short time.
On the night Garcia had to leave for the wedding, she was able to thank Bambi for all of the years of companionship.
“On the night before we had to leave for the wedding, I saw how weak she was.. It broke my heart. I hugged her and prayed to God, thanking Him for her life and companionship; for using her to remind me that I was never alone, and that someone was always watching over me. I thanked her, too, and I told her for the first time ever that it’s okay for her to rest now,” she said.
Garcia also settled with the idea that if Bambi were to pass away on that day, it would be better if she wasn’t home so that she will not be able to see it.
On the day of her wedding day, April 20, 2018, she received a text from her driver saying that Bambi has died. She, however, felt blessed because Bambi waited for her actual wedding day before passing away.
“How I felt was unexpected. I was purely filled with joy. I couldn’t even find it in me to be sad because I felt it would make me so greedy. How could I ask for more when God has blessed me with this much? She left me not a day before, not a day after, but waited until the actual day of my wedding. How amazing is that?” she said.
“All the tears I shed for Bambi now are never sad; only tears of joy and gratitude at the thought of God ushering me into this new chapter of my life, after all the turbulent times I have had to endure in the past. A clean slate, a new beginning,” Garcia added.