To my furry pride and joy, I miss you the most every time I leave to go back to college. Nothing scares me more than being away as you get closer to your time to go to doggy heaven. Just yesterday I was playing fetch with you in the backyard when you were only a few years old. Now, you’re twelve, 84 if you are counting in dogs years, and all you want to do is snooze and cuddle.

Leaving your dog behind when you go back to college is like leaving a piece of your heart behind. Your dog is your best friend, who you tell all your secrets to, and wants to eat that fifth cookie just as much as you do and doesn't judge you when you do it.

As we are both getting older, there is a fear that the next time I leave for school will be my last goodbye to you. Even though you can get kind of grumpy in your old age, I still love you more than anything and you’ll always be my puppy.

I promise to love you from 600 miles away while I’m at school and always call home and make mom put me on speakerphone so you can hear my voice. I promise to always give you treats when I get home, even though your fat rolls show you clearly don’t need them and sneak you food under the kitchen table.

I’ll miss your smelly breath and how excited you get every time I walk in the door, even if I was only gone for ten minutes. I wish I could just pack you in my suitcase and lug you back to school with me.

This one's for you pup as I go back to College. I love you with all of my heart and am so thankful to have grown up side by side. I've watched you grow from a hyper puppy to a sleepy old man who just wants to take endless naps and eat endless treats. You have watched me grow from a child into a young woman and I am thankful we have gotten to spend that time together.

So as you get older, I hope you are still just as excited to see me, as I am to see you. So, to my best life-long furry friend, I’ll miss you the most every time I leave to go back to college. So, this one’s for you, and if you could read, I’d know you’d give me puppy kisses as soon as I got back home. But for now, we will have to manage with you barking when I’m on speakerphone from 600 miles away. I love you, pup.