Ode to My Dog

Thank you
for being you. Thank you for
not putting any limits on
the dog you are,
not hesitating to
show your feelings.

Because when you're happy,
your joy spreads like music,
wafting through the room and wrapping around us
in an embrace.
With every bouncy flip-flop of your ears,
with every jingle of the tangled tags on your collar,
with every wiggle of your furry body,
the sun comes out,
our spirits lift, and
we laugh
we smile
we can't believe
how, somehow, we ended up with a dog like you.

And when you were sick and sad and quiet,
we all got sad, too,
drooping, worried,
but when you were
back to yourself, we were so glad and remembered again
how lucky we were
to end up with a dog like you.

Thank you
for being a friend. Thank you
for being a companion in a life of ups and downs,
no matter
what.

Because when you're with us,
you don't judge. You don't ever
give us a reason to
obsess about every single thing we do,
scared of
what you'd think.
You make it okay to talk
without worrying over the right words, but
also okay to not talk
without feeling obliged to break the silence.
And you make it easy, so easy, to wonder at
how, somehow, we ended up with a dog like you.

Thank you
for being kind. Thank you for
showing you love us
with pure doggy devotion.

Because every time you sit down on my foot,
every time you roll over onto your back so I can pet your belly,
every time I walk into the room and
your tail gives little thumps,
I glow inside, amazed at how I got to
end up with a dog like you.

And you never get full of yourself,
never get selfish,
never ask for more than
the life you have (unless it's food. Food is an exception.).
But most importantly,
you never stop being yourself,
your silly, sweet, lovable self,
your doggy self that makes us all glad for
fate, which let us
end up with a dog like you.
Thank you.