I Miss My Dog....Tribute to Otis

I write this blog with a heavy heart because yesterday I had to say goodbye to my dog, Otis, and I am filled with a pain so overbearing that I can't even let myself acknowledge what has happened for fear that I will have a complete melt down. So, like I do in all hard times, I redirected my energies. Twenty-seven loads of laundry, thirteen casseroles, and two re-grouted bath tubs later, I am faced with nowhere else to turn but here. To this blog. To you. To tell you nothing other than that I miss my dog.

I know, I know. He lived a good life. He had a good run. We were the best parents a dog could have. We all lost our pets at one point or another. Circle of life - blah, blah, blah. Tell me that when I wait for him to bark at the door. When I walk into a room expecting him to be waiting with wagging tail. To hear him snore at the edge of my bed. To find his wet tongue trails on the side of the car window. To know that no matter how mean I was or how often I ignored him or yelled at him for getting under my feet - he loved me unconditionally. His only joy was to be near me. He was my Otis. For eight years, he has watched over me. And now he's gone.

And it's so weird how the world still goes on at its fast pace. That everybody keeps walking and keeps speeding by when all I want to do is shout, "Stop! Everybody stop! My dog died today." So I tell myself to forget it. To get on with life. But something feels wrong with that. That I should keep walking as if I never had a dog at all. As if Otis never existed.

And so I take this quiet moment to tell you. Just so I can say it and know that somebody is listening. My dog died. His name was Otis. He was a good dog - the best you can have. I'm going to miss him.