Dear Diary

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Dear Diary,

Some Really Big Things have happened here.

One day Jack left to go for a ride in the car. But He Didn’t Come Home. Mom cried a whole lot. I Licked Her And She Let Me!!!!!

That Very Same Day, I lost my collar. She said, “Where is Your collar? Did Jack take it to show Spec?”

Mom said, “Want to ride in the car?” We went to A Pet Store. There were lots and lots of smells there. There were People And Dogs walking around the store. Mom got me a new collar and Jingly Tags.

Every day, Mom takes me for a walk. Just her and me. We go Very Very far where I have never been before. We go Very Fast and we walk for a long time. I like long walks.

At night, mom tells me to sleep by her. I like sleeping by her. It keeps my nose warm. She said, “Arya, you got a promotion to #1 bed warmer.”

Every day is Very Quiet now. Except when Sweetie, the dog next door, comes outside. She always barks, “Hey! I am here! I am here!” And then I run outside through the door and I bark, “Hey! I am here, too!”

I miss Jack.

Until next time.

Love, Arya

Broken Wide Open

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As soon as we laid eyes on you
Our hearts rushed in, unprotected,
Held captive by you
With your bright, smiling eyes.

Even with your hair grown long
Like a Highland cow
Those brown, trusting eyes,
“They’re under there somewhere,”
Reflected love.
Unconditional love,

We fed you, watched you grow,
Cheered your every milestone,
Forgave your every transgression,
(Even that time you unraveled
the berber carpet in the bedroom.)

We loved you with wild abandon,
Ignoring the certainty
that some day we’d lose you.

And now you have gone.
And our unprotected hearts
have shattered, quite completely.
Broken wide open with the sudden loss of you.

“Thank you” is all we can say.
Thank you for being our very sweet pup.
Stealer of hearts.
Such a good dog.

Hearts will heal, eventually.
But they will be forever reconfigured
By loving you.

Over the Rainbow Bridge

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Hi friends. I’m sorry to give you some bad news. Jack was feeling sick over the last week with what we thought was tooth pain. Unfortunately it was an aggressive cancer that had invaded his lymph nodes, chest cavity, and abdominal area. It had attached to the spleen and spine. He was declining rapidly over the weekend and when we took him in for X-rays and ultrasound it all came clear. He was very peaceful at the end and he is at rest now. We are sad and quite in shock, but wanted you to know. Jack brought so much joy to us and to the world. His 9th birthday was yesterday, October 21.

Contemplation

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jack at the vet

“Ride in the car?” she said.
Mom put me in the car.
Arya stayed home.
I was so excited.

When the car stopped,
We were at The Vet’s.

I didn’t want to go inside.
There were sounds and smells
I did not like.

We waited a long time.
I got two shots.
(And lots of treats.)

When we got home,
Arya sniffed me all over.
Now,
I shall take a nap.

Watching the Sunset

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Last night
After dinner
We went outside
To sniff the wind
And listen to
The getting-dark sounds.

There was a new dog
Roaming around
Behind our woods.
And that raccoon from last month
Came by again.

This morning we heard an owl
Calling before sunrise.
Arya was worried.
I wondered if
We would hear it again later.

Then the sky got very bright and pretty
like the fireplace looks when mom says,
“Stay back! It’s hot!”

Mom came outside and watched the sky, too.
She said, “Ooo!” and “Ahhh!” and “Ohhh!”
She was very happy.

It got dark.
We all went inside the house.
Mom put the dog door cover on
So no strangers could come in.

Then we went to bed
And wondered
What a sunset smells like.