Your Pet Tributes

by Samantha Lee
(Texas)

Mackie was my best friend. My home when my house wasn't. He was always there for me. He never faltered and never failed at making me smile through the tears I sobbed.

Now, I can say without a doubt that I have cried over his loss more than I have over any other heartbreak. He was the only one who never judged me. He surpassed the point where he was no longer my pet, but my comrade. My best friend. He was my companion when all else had left.

I wish that I could have one more day with him, knowing that it was our last. Then I could hug him one more time, kiss him one more time, and tell him I loved him one more time. And maybe, I could say goodbye. But I probably wouldn't, as for us, it was never goodbye. His spirit is still near me, walking by me as I go through my life one step at a time.

Mackie, baby. I love you more than I've loved anybody. I will miss you tremendously for the rest of my life. I will find a picture of you ten or twenty years from now and tears will still come to my eyes because my heart will still ache from the longing of embracing for a final time.

Please forgive when I find the courage to get another dog. It's not that I never loved you, but I need not be selfish and keep another dog away from a loving home. I love you. I always will, and I hope that my children will one day be able to have a dog accompany them through their childhood as you have through mine.