“A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his." -- John Grogan

There's something so intimate about the relationship between person and pet, something that transcends the title of pet and comes closer to a first love. You never forget your childhood pet, nor the pure innocence and nostalgic memories associated with them. You always see them the way you first did, as a bright-eyed, purely optimistic child -- a wriggling pile of fuzzy yellow fur surrounding wide, chocolate brown eyes and coating velvet smooth ears. You love them with a love that knows no bounds: fiercely, unconditionally, without waver.

Here is my thank you to you.

Thank you for teaching me that love is best when it is done passionately and without regret or second consideration. Thank you for always being there for me after a rough day with a warm hug and sweet, sloppy kisses. Thank you for giving me a childhood filled to the brim with memories of warm summer days lopping around outside with you or winters spent building snowmen with you trailing at my side. Thank you for the midnight trips into my bedroom, curled up at the foot of my bed. Thank you for all the shared scoops of peanut butter and ice cream licks. Thank you for never giving up on me, for loving me absolutely and without question. Thank you for seeing me through childhood and the awkward years of adolescence and helping me to stand tall on my own. Thank you for always being a source of laughter, love, comfort and bliss.

You are, and forever will remain, my greatest friend.

And even when you are older and grayer and begin to feel the effects of your age, I will still look down at you with the same wide-eyed wonder and constant love that I did the first night I met you.

For me, you were my childhood, but to you, my family was your whole life. Each day of yours was marked by complete and boundless adoration and excitement. We may have been your whole world, but trust me when I say this-you were ours, as well.

We loved with a love that did not compare, and no one could ever take your place.

And from the moment I first met you until the last time we are together, I will still look at you with unbridled tenderness.

I love you, forever and always.

Thank you.