Friday, December 2, 2011

About a dog

I'll never forget that windy November morning when I picked the quiet pup from the litter of energetic puppies. A female, not to big, and not too small, who stood at the back of the litter and stared at me with the most honest, gentle eyes I have ever seen. On the way home she stood in my lap with her nose pressed to the window, staring at the world passing us by. It took me a few days to come up with a name for her, but when I said those 2 syllables, I knew that this name was created just for this soul.
I had Daphne for 3 months when I was in a car accident. As I lay on the couch in pain, Daphne stayed at my side, day and night. When my hand dropped from the couch, it landed on her back, and she responded with a gentle look and a soft nuzzle. Whenever I was sick, her company could not be beat. Never did she demand my love or attention, and never did she bare and angry tooth. When I became homeless and lived in a tent, Daphne never hesitated or seemed to mind keeping me warm all night and the October wind blew. She never doubted me, and never failed to make me smile with her long ears and friendly disposition.
I remember one morning as I was out paying bills, she was riding in the back seat of my car. As I was sitting there balancing my checkbook, she stuck her head out the window and her tail beat furiously. I heard a woman talking to her, and then the lady asked if she could pet my dog. As tears welled in her eyes as Daphne smiled at her and leaned into her hand with her velvety fur, the woman explained that she had been battling cancer for years, and had gone into remission, and this was her last stop of a string of errands before she would be admitted to the hospital again.
The one time Daphne ever showed aggression towards anyone, was this last spring after she had been run over by a truck. As I tried to pick her up, my hand pushed on her hip, which was broken, and her instincts told her to bite. After a brief growl and snap of her teeth, Daphne looked me in the eye and laid down, letting me do whatever needed to be done. I knew she was sorry even before it happened. When I moved far from home, and had lost most of my friends, I spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's with my closest and best trusted companion. She never blamed me for the choices I made, and when I was walking home from work, I could hear her barking from a block away, knowing I would return home any minute.
The quiet outside seems so alien now. Without a baying hound, running in circles in excitement over the squirrel on the telephone line. Her bowls sit empty in the grass, which lays down where she used to lay and run the most. The hole she dug, (which made me so angry) sits empty and unfinished. As the snow gently falls, the world seems even colder than I ever imagined it could. My companion, my dog is now gone.
To some she was just a dog, but to me, she was my most dependable friend. My warmth in the October nights, my family at the holidays, my comfort through any pain. If there is anything in this world that Daphne left me with, its the feeling of being loved unconditionally. When I needed her, she named no price, demanded nothing in return, and gave more than was needed. I love you Daffodil. Today, our family is a little smaller, but my heart is a whole lot emptier. You will be forever missed. Goodbye dear friend.

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