Death. It is a natural part of life. Some fear it, others embrace it. Yet, when we lose someone we feel this uncontrollable sadness that they are gone.
I lost one of my best friends recently, my dog Kipp. He was 12 and a half years old, and we've had him since he was about four months. Since I am now 20, almost 21, you can imagine that we basically grew up together. In this time we got to know each other really well and got to make some pretty great memories. There were some bad ones too, but I wouldn't change a thing.
I loved him so much. I would annoy him with my love because I saw that he needed it. He wasn't the type of dog that would come up to you to snuggle. I would often go lay next to him, and he would either push me away with his legs or get up and move. Despite him not loving to snuggle, he was still such a lovable little puppy. Every day I would come home, he would be there at the door to greet me. He would be jumping up and down with his tail wagging, and sometimes barking with excitement. It was always the best part of my day.
One of the hardest things about losing him is that even though we knew it was going to happen soon, we still wanted more time with him. But time was no longer his friend. His once reddish-brown hair had turned to silver. He could no longer jump with excitement. His once peppy bark had turned to an old raspy woof. His hips started to hurt, and before we knew it, his legs had given out.I'm glad I was there on his last day. It all feels too surreal, especially since I'm at school and not at home. I'm still grieving, but there's a very small part of me that is hoping that it was all just a bad dream and that he will be there to greet me after finals. I don't think I'll be able to come to terms with it until I am home and realize that he isn't there.Even though he's not physically here anymore, he has always been in my heart, and always will be.