I miss my dog

We got her about twelve years ago, as a little fluff of fur puppy that was happy as a lark, jumping around and into endless mischief. What a joy to be around. She grew up quickly to a medium-sized dog, but still full of energy, and happy to run around in big circles in our yard.

Whenever I came home she would be at the door to greet me, tail wagging, and acting like it was the best moment of her day. Each time she would bring me her favorite toy, a little stuffed animal. I never fully understood the significance, but I always thought it was a generous and loving gesture.

Some things would scare her to death. She hated thunder and whenever a big storm would pass through in the summer she’d be petrified, just shaking with fear. And I thought it was strange that she hated for me to sneeze, which would also make her tremble uncontrollably and look for a place to hide.

She had peculiar tastes. We had to protect the cat box from her. Once she got into our dirty clothes and ate about ten pairs of my dirty underwear, focusing on the apparently tastier crotch regions. This clogged up her intestines and required some serious surgery to fix.

She had a pretty good vocabulary. She certainly understood the word NO! And if we told her to go to her room she would head off to the laundry room. She also knew the words “upstairs”, “downstairs”, “inside”, “outside” and she could do a few tricks.

She spent a lot of time playing with our cat, which was her best buddy. Their favorite game was to take turns chasing each other around the house at full speed. But when they were worn out they’d lie down next to each other and rest.

Once we left her at someone’s house for a week while we went on vacation. When I went to pick her up I was worried she might have forgotten me. But no, it was the most incredible reunion you could imagine. Her tail was wagging so fast that it shook her whole body. She was absolutely frantic with excitement. She wanted to run, but she wanted to be next to me. She was the happiest thing on the planet. She peed all over the floor.

My dog was my friend, always there when I needed her. I know she loved me, despite my many flaws.

I cried like a baby when she died.

I miss my dog.