Four Cold Paws

A dark cloud forms as tears fill her eyes, spilling into a stream that runs down her face. She bites her lip to quiet the echoes of her cries. A lump forms in her throat, pulsing with the ache sent straight from her heart. Her legs begin to give away, until she collapses to her knees. She sits there, paralyzed by time, praying to whoever will listen. Inconclusive; not leading to a firm conclusion; not ending doubt or dispute. She was taught to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. But in her world, she’s never known the best-so she’s left to fear for the worse. A curse she thought she was used to… until it involved you. So, she wrote… “The way the sun hits his face is different these days. His coat, once black, is appearing more grey. It sparkles so bright that for a moment I lose sight of the years we may not have left—and instead, remember the years we’ve grown, and all we’ve learned. The years we've fallen in love. Every mistake. Every win. The days when his fur would collect nothing but tears. I reminisce in the years full of adventure, and all the lives he's impacted along our journey. I adore the way he loves. The way he starts each day with more curiosity than the last. I giggle at how fast his four cold paws wake me up each morning, and how his wet nose meeting mine had become a ritual. A grunt and a sigh leave his body as he stretches as long as me—until there’s nothing left to stretch but his toes. I wait patiently for those toe beans to finish the last bit of the biggest stretch known to man before whispering a soft ‘good morning.’ He loses all control of his body as he squirms his way even closer. A smile forms every time he soars through the air to catch his favorite ball. Or when he digs to find the comfiest spot. And with every action in between. I’m in awe. I fall more in love with him each night, knowing I get to wake up with him again. But it’s then that time pulls me back. That moment—the one where I remember he won’t always be here. And suddenly, I realize how much I’ll miss those four cold paws that bring each new day.” Maybe time will take him. But not before he’s left pieces of his love tucked into every corner of her life. He’s not just a dog—he’s her home.