22/03/2024
I found this note that I wrote about my amazing dog, friend and lover of life, Niko. He passed two and a half years ago now. I hope this helps in any way you might need :)
Niko’s lessons to a good life.
Chase the birds because goals are fun. Run like the wind. Swim and drink at the same time because you can. Snow baths are divine. Hold your head high and your convictions higher. Cherish and protect your people. Give cuddles to everyone. Dream vividly because that’s where you catch the squirrel. Take that snooze when you need it. Fart like no one can hear it. Walk into a room like you own it. Remind the cat that you’re the boss.
I will remember your tiniest, softest, silky black ears. How they perk up and you look like a puppy when you hear your favorite words. Kibbies, walkies, “go for a…”, treat, cookies, “it’s pee/pill time!”. No one loved “pills” more than you! At kibble time how you went to find a stuffy and shake it in anticipation. Or stand outside the door and poke your head through the dog door when I took too long. Walking into any place like you owned it. Happy to be here and allowing others to adore you. Going up to perfect strangers and giving your comfort and love so freely, then sitting on their feet.
Your beautiful lion’s mane and blackest fur. Soft and silky on the outside and fuzzy like a bear on the inside. Burying my face into you and holding you around your neck for several moments and telling you how much I loved you and you knowing it was true. Soft brown eyes that said everything. The house felt safe and like home with you in it. Always there. Always watching. Always ready for us. I was always watching you too. Thinking about how to make you comfortable so that you could stay one more day. You loved this world. Running on our hikes. The first one to everything as a pup and then patient to be the last near the end. Swimming at the lake. Wading and drinking and taking in the beauty of the scene and the feel of the cool water on your belly. Chasing the birds at the beach. You were so invigorated! Your huffle puffs telling me you needed some comforts because you never complained. Always just taking the good and the bad so that you could be with us.
Most of all I will remember how you taught me how to let go. I thought I knew how. Surrender to the natural no matter how different it feels or looks to all that we know. It’s jumping into the unknown and accepting what is. Feeling the gratitude for a beautiful life with you over the loss of it. It was never about giving you up. It was about the process. The transition to another state. Passing the baton and smiling with courage and love. I want to remember and learn all that you taught me, so I choose to move through the emptiness, pain, and panic of living without your physical presence and move to all the wisdom you shared. That’s how we both move on.