My dog sent him a sympathy card

I can only imagine this must be so hard

He caught us as we walked by

That familiar neighborly side lawn

With all the tennis balls and Chuck-Its still there

The silvery water bowl was bare

A sweet princess was gone

I’m glad I had on shades so he couldn’t see me cry

He told me it was peaceful for her

The retelling of it, for me, was torture

The vet even gave him chocolates to give her – for the end

Her last few days were rough, he said

And he told me all about how she was his best friend

For 17 years, at that

The old, single man relayed all the facts

The sky was darker that day

Sunshine wasn’t there

The man said, “All my guardrails are gone, my schedule (world) revolved around hers”

He said, “To love like that is a curse”

He started sobbing

I did too

My pup laid down at the man’s feet

Is was all we could do, weep

My pup’s eyes were glossy too

The man pulled out of his pocket a chew

He handed it to Billy, said “Sunshine always liked to share”

You know how people say life’s not fair?

Why do dogs die?

It’s the only time in my life I’ve seen a few grown men cry

I guess we’re lucky just to have the four-legged angels among us

My dad always pointed out that dog is God spelled backward

And I don’t think that’s sacrilegious

Dogs give us their love – to death

I’ve seen them bring people back from the edge

They’re better than we deserve

They’re great listeners

Loyal, unlike some parishioners

As we stood in that yard, the man said, “I miss her!”

The man lived alone

He said, “There is no cure”

“Sunshine was so lovely”

I knew the remedy

I said to the man, “Tomorrow we’re gonna go get you a puppy”