To Gumbo, the best dog ever,
First of all, I want to say thank you. Thank you for being the most wonderful pet in the world for the past 14 years. I could not imagine growing up without you following me around the house all the time. I am so sad that you are not with us anymore and since I was not home when you passed, I wanted to say goodbye.
Even though your age was showing and your sight and hearing were leaving you, you still knew how to make me happy on the hardest days. Your energy never left you and you never failed to jump on any visitors that we had, begging for them to pet you.
I apologize for ignoring you most of the time when you wanted someone to pet you. I was usually too busy to stop what I was doing and definitely took the time that I did have for you for granted. Thank you for forgiving me, though, and always being down to take selfies with me.
I already miss you greeting me at the door or when I pulled into the driveway. I will always automatically look at the bottom left corner of the door frame when I walk into the house and expect you to be there with your tail wagging and your tongue hanging out of your mouth. I miss you dancing and giving me high fives for pieces of cheese after your baths. I just miss you being here every day and your presence making everything better.
Losing you reminded me that life goes on, whether I like it or not. The past year, I was not with you as much as I wish I could have been, but I always thought about you. I am now reminded, though, that I need to keep what matters most to me at heart no matter where I am. I never know what might happen throughout life and who will and will not be in my life. Thank you for being the reason that I will remember to cherish everything that I have. That lesson could not have been learned without you.
Thank you again for all of the memories that you gave me and for being a constant friend to me that I could always count on. I love you so much, Gumbo and miss you more than you could ever know. Have fun up in doggie heaven.
