To my dog in heaven,

There is so much I wish I could say to you one last time. First off, I hate that cancer took your life away when you were only nine. But through it all you never gave up, always wagging your tail and wanting to play, even on your very last days. Marli, thank you for always being selfless, whether it be by resting your head on my leg when I was sad as your way of comforting me, and for never ever letting us see you struggle even if you were in pain. For that and so much more, I love you and I always will.

Marli Pearl, I miss you more than you can imagine. Visiting your gravesite and talking to you before I go to bed each night will never replace giving you hugs and kisses, but it sure does help me cope with what has to be the greatest loss I have ever experienced. Thank you for being my confidant, playmate, bodyguard, and most of all my best friend. We watched each other grow up, you from a playful puppy into a beautiful and loving adult dog, and me from a somewhat naive young girl into an ambitious young woman. You were there for me through some of the best times of my life as well as some of the worst, but no matter what the situation was, you always managed to put a smile on my face. You were, and still are a constant ray of light in my life and for that, I will always be thankful.

You added so much to our family: light, unconditional love, and occasional laughter even in the darkest of times. You were always there, at the laundry room door, to greet us with a cheerful bark or a tilt of your head.

The day that we lost you was undoubtedly one of the hardest days of my life. I'm so very sorry for not being there to say goodbye, it is one of my biggest regrets and I hope you know that I was there in spirit, as you are with us now and for the rest of our lives. While I know that you are not in pain anymore and are most likely chasing tennis balls and toy torpedoes in heaven, I wish you were still here, and most of all I wish that I could hug and kiss you one last time and tell you how much you mean to me. But alas I take solace in believing that you are up in heaven looking down on all of us and that you are always with us, not physically, but in spirit and of course I will always cherish the memories that we made together while you were here. I only hope that you are bringing as much joy to all of the people and other animals in heaven, as you brought to us. Lastly, Marli thank you for teaching me what unconditional love is and always remember that I love you more than anything in the universe. Please wait for me at the rainbow bridge.

With all my love,

Your Morgan