The Hardest Part of Living with a Puppy Isn’t What Most People Think: It’s Not Walking Them in the R…

The hardest part of living with a puppy isnt what most people imagine.

It isnt taking him out when its raining, when the wind cuts through you, when sleep has barely touched your eyes, or when your heart feels restless.

It isnt giving up trips or turning down invitations because you hear, Come along, but without the dog.

It isnt fur clinging to your sheets, your clothes, even turning up in your meals.

It isnt scrubbing muddy paw prints off the floor again and again, all the while knowing it will look just the same half an hour later.

It isnt the bill from the vets surgery, nor the worry youll miss something important with his health.

It isnt the bit of freedom you lose, because your idea of freedom has become us now.

And it isnt that your heart is no longer yours alone

All these things are love.
All these things are life.
All these things were your own choice.

The hardest part creeps up gentlylike an ache in your bones when the weather shifts, or a chill on an English street that at first seems nothing, but soon sinks deep inside.

One day, it just hits you:
he isnt what he was.
He tries but cant quite manage.

He runs to you as always, but its not quite the same.
His eyes are still yours, but now theres a weary light in them, saying,
Im here, but each day is a bit more of an effort.

You remember how he used to be.
And you see him as he is nowfully yours, devoted to the end.

Hes always believed in you:
that youd be there,
that youd help,
that youd save him.

And you have.

But now, you cant save him from growing old.

The greatest pain is knowing that, for you, he was a comfort
but for him, you were EVERYTHING:
his whole world,
his open sky,
his only hope.

And youre just not ready.
Not ready to let him go.
Not ready to watch the one who taught you boundless love begin to fade.

Then comes the silence.
Thick, heavy silence.
The empty spot on the pillow.
The food bowl, licked clean for the last time.
And your heart, shattered.

You go out again.
But now, without him.

You catch yourself whispering into the air,
Come on, my little one

But if I could turn back time
Id choose him again in a heartbeat.
Id take it all: the tiredness, the sadness, the giving of myself.

Because this love is true.

Having a dog means inviting warmth into your life.
A warmth that stays with you always,
even when he is gone.

For a dog has just one purpose in this world:
to give you his heart, wholly and completely.

And in doing so, he teaches you the meaning of love, loss, and just how precious shared moments really are.