Not "Just a Dog" - The Death of My Friend

Don’t you dare say to me-

                                                “He was just a dog”

This friend who I lost today-

                                                Was the best friend I ever had

The best Christmas present I ever received-

                                                Given by a man who loved me enough

To know he could not love me enough

To stop me from drowning in the sorrow of the child I had lost

So he threw me a lifeline in the form of a pup

A warm fuzzy fella whose needs could not be denied

A reason to get up and live again

                                                Because he couldn’t if I didn’t

And even a reason to smile sometimes

                                                When I thought I could never smile again

Once so small he could fit in my coat & we’d sneak him in the store

Before long he outweighed me and on hind legs stood over my head

Through the years, his coat bore enough of my tears

To drown all the humans I’ve ever known

Never once did he complain

                                                Never once was he too busy or too tired

                                                to listen

And he often looked as if he understood every word

And maybe he did; every trick we ever taught him was learned in minutes

And remembered for years

Many nights he slept beside me on a pillow

Snoring and farting like a “regular guy”

He stood firm by my side and protected me from harm

Comforted me through the hard times

And never once turned his back on me or

Stabbed me in the back

while smiling in my face

That is more than I can say of most people –how about you?

So when you see me grieving because he is gone

Think hard before saying “he was just a dog”

My friend and companion, my family, my heart-

He made my world a better place & made me a better person

If “just a dog” can bring so much love & happiness,

What a world this could be if we were all “just a dog”

Thank you Zeus – for every minute of the seven years I had with you.

I will miss you my friend – every day of my life.

My “Spoiled Rottenweiler” – November 16, 2004 – November 28, 2011

Author - Karen Leigh Long
November 29, 2011

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