Goodbye Best Friend

When I was seven or eight years old my family had a garden, and one night for family home evening we all worked in it, with a promise of ice cream afterwards. That night, I got something much better than ice cream. I got a best friend. We headed over to Baskin Robbins, but at that time a new pet store had just been put in a couple doors down. We begged my dad to let us go look inside. David had recently been bit by a dog, and was a little afraid of them. Also, we had never had a dog before. We begged and begged, and promised that we'd help take care of a dog. So, to help David like dogs again, and I suppose just because my parents wanted us to experience having a dog, they said yes. We picked out the runt of the family, and he was the cutest thing. Instead of ice cream that night, we got a puppy.

We voted on his name, I only remember two options. Shadow and Aussie. Aussie won out, in honor of my dad's mission in Australia. We kept him inside in a box at night, until he got too big and could climb out. He was an outside dog for the most part, but every once in a while we let him inside. In designated areas. Aussie was a great dog. I remember dressing him up, going down a slide with him, painting his nails, taking him on walks, and watching Dad teach him how to do numerous tricks. Aussie always loved Dad best, even though he was the one that also did the disciplining. I always hated watching dad get mad at Aussie, but afterwards Dad would always play with him for a while.

We've had Aussie for 12 or 13 years now. I love him dearly. But he got old. He gets too tired to play much. He developed cancer, and is going blind and deaf. Also, he has panic attacks when there are fireworks, really bad ones, so that he puts himself in danger, breaks things, and makes huge messes just to try and get away. My dad decided it would be for the best if we put him down before we go out of town for the 24th of July, since there are fireworks then and we won't be here for him. So, tonight I said my last goodbye to Aussie. No longer will he be laying in my way by the back door, he won't be there for me to go sit by in the backyard. when I'm laying asleep in the sun, he wont' come lick my face. I can't take him for walks anymore. I can't sing crazy songs to him anymore when I'm the only one home.

I don't' know if all dogs go to heaven or not. But I do know that I hope when I pass on, I'll get to see my Aussie dog again. I hope that he'll be young again, and have the energy to play fetch and tug or war for hours. That I can sit by him again and get covered in his black hair. I hope I can get licked in the face and have to put up with his horrible breath.

So, to Aussie, I say goodbye. You were the best dog I ever could have asked for. I love you, and I miss you already.