“Dogs’ lives are short, too short, but you know that going in… There’s such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware that it comes with an unbearable price.” – Dean Koontz

Some years  ago, Amy saw a mother dog and her single puppy running loose near the Zoo. This, of course, was not acceptable to her so she proceeded to catch the stray pup. Well, a few days later and Clovis was the love of her life and my grandpuppy. Amy remembers him in his early years as something less than the perfect puppy. He chewed on shoes and was not particularly respectful of the location of the potty. This was made especially hard by the fact that they shared a loft apartment in the Old City of Knoxville and the closest patch of grass was a five minute walk.

She eventually gave up her apartment for a house in suburbia with a comfortable back yard. As he grew, he became more, well, civilized and Amy’s loving companion. They took their daily walks, in fact he insisted on it. After I moved to Knoxville, he would stay with me, Dusty and Sally, when Amy was out of town. Dusty, then queen of the house, occasionally snarled at him but, truthfully, I don’t think he even noticed. As he grew older and age began to take hold, he became what I would call “stately”. I grew to love the hound as much as any dog I’d known.

His age was showing and, in time, he found it harder to get around, especially stairs and in getting into the car. On Saturday, his health slumped to the point that Amy took him to the UT Veterinary Hospital where he was diagnosed with cancer in several of his organs. On Sunday, he was lethargic and I agreed to come over and stay with him during the week while Amy worked. The week was fair and sunny and he went outside where he would trot across the yard and sometimes roll in the grass. It was a good week.

On Friday morning, Amy called to say she needed to again take him to the vet. I went over in case she needed help getting him in the car and followed her to the vet. Amy asked me to stay with him that day and, after going home to clean up and take my meds, I went to her home and stayed until she got off from work. She called me a little later to tell me she was taking him back to the vet. And a short time later, she called from her car to say he had passed away.

We both knew that this day was coming and was, in fact, quite near. Now we are left with his loving memories.

“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose.

All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”

                                                               Helen Keller

I wouldn’t say that he loved to dress up, but he tolerated it.

“When we think of those companions who traveled by our side down life's road, let us not say with sadness that they left us behind, but rather say with gentle gratitude that they once were with us.” Author Unknown