#mudshake

After several attempts to begin, I can’t seem to find the appropriate words to say to you. After all, you’re just a dog, as how some people would put it. But let me say, for someone who’s JUST a dog, man, you have given me so much to be grateful for. So I want to say thank you.

Thank you for coming into my life and showing me what true love is. For teaching me patience. For making me understand what compassion means. For making me grow and making me responsible. We had dogs before you but I always say everything started with you. I will not be the kind of parent that I am if not for you.

Thank you for trusting us while you were growing up and we’re all just a bunch of confused pet parents. Fumbling with what to do and made you a guinea pig to check which one works and which one doesn’t. For making me virtually gross-proof because after scooping up poo for the nth time, sometimes scanning it for worms, who wouldn’t be?

Thank you for inspiring my creativity when I have to come up with different ways to cover up a broken vase, a chewed up table leg and all the things you destroyed as a puppy.

Thank you for allowing me to be there with you when you gave birth to your three little puppies. Letting me catch and clean them and making me realize that you fully trust me.

Thank you for always accompanying me when I do laundry at 12am and beyond. Thank you, it is not a big house but you always have to be in the area where the people are. Thank you for how you accepted my Kenzie into the fold and for being the only dog in the family patient enough to put up with a growing boy. Maybe you remembered how we put up with you when you were a headache of a puppy and this was how you gave back?

Thank you for living for 12 years and allowing us enough time to spend time with you and show you how much we love you. Thank you for showing me how much I am capable of doing for the sake of love. Thank you for holding on long enough to spend the holidays with us, our last with you. During your last few weeks, when you first got extremely ill, thank you for recovering, even for just a few weeks. I know now that you did it for us. That you gave us a few good days to enjoy before passing on. And my, what great days those were. Like you were whole again. Like you would live forever. Fresh happy memories to keep. But then again, thank you for passing on the day you did. It was the perfect timing, if the not for the others, but at least for me. You did so on a day that I am most likely will be with you. You did so when I was not at the office where I would have to choose between you and my work. You didn’t wait until we have to take you back to the vet where you might die without us. You didn’t wait until we have to make the heart breaking decision of having to put you down. You waited long enough for me to take one last video of you. And at the very last moment, you waited until I stepped out of the shower. You seem like you were looking at me straight in the eye. An understanding passed between us and I knew for sure. You’re saying goodbye. Despite the pain in my heart, I believe the timing was as perfect as it can be. Just like how you chose your name 3 times, out of the 3 choices we gave you because we couldn’t decide; you decided to go on your own terms. Always the sweet dog, you didn’t burden us with the decisions. And for that, I say the biggest thank you.