Blackie dog,

I miss you. It's been a little over two years and sometimes I still find myself struggling without you around. You were quite possibly the best part of my childhood. You made my life such a happy one, and I will always be thankful that we had the nine years we did together.

Thank you for being the goofiest member of the family. I'll never forget all the times you got into the trash while we weren't home, or when you ate a laundry detergent pod. Mostly, I'll always remember when you jumped out of the second story window in Virginia and still came limping up the driveway to greet us. There was never a dull moment with you in our lives.

You were the greatest comfort at the hardest times. Every awful moment and every heartbreak always seemed better in the end because you let me cry to you. And you always seemed to know when I needed you most. If I was sick and stuck on the red couch for the night, you wouldn't leave my side. Staying home from school wasn't the worst thing in the world if it meant that I got to hang out with you for the day.

With Thanksgiving approaching I miss you even more. I miss giving you whatever table scraps we all didn't want. You loved it; it truly was the best day of the year to be a dog. When we listed what we were thankful for at dinner, everyone always would say that they were thankful that we had you. It was so bittersweet that first Thanksgiving when we had to say we were thankful to have had you as long as we did.

I walk a lot more now than I ever did when we had you. I feel pretty bad about it, like maybe if I had taken you out more, you might still be here. Still, I always smile when I pass by the brook you would play in or when I see a cat in someone's yard. Surely you would have tried to take off after it.

You left me with so many wonderful memories. As sad as it was to see you go, I know that you were in pain and that it is better this way. I just hope that you knew we loved you so much. Thank you for being such a good dog.