Slobbery kisses and endless whimpering...this is what I woke up to on Christmas morning when I was five years old. Our first family puppy and it was the most adorable pup ever. From the very beginning, my sweet little Swoop melted my heart and made me truly understand what man's best friend meant.

I never thought anything would ever happen.

I guess I was caught in this magical world where nothing bad happened and you never thought you'd lose your best friend. There is all this time and suddenly it's all gone. Where did it go?

This once vivacious pup was now growing white whispers around his snout. I remember coming home from practice, walk through the door and sure enough, Swoop would come prancing around the corner. Tail wagging high, giant chew toy in his mouth, and a gleaming smile hiding behind it just instantly made a bad day at school all better.

I adored his commitment whenever you had food in hand -- he definitely wasn't gracious when eating treats. It honestly reminded me of Remi from "Ratatouille" telling his brother "Don't just hork it down."

At the end of each night, I would bribe him with a treat to sleep on my bed. It didn't matter how much dog hair collected on my comforter or tickled my nose. Then, it wasn't so easy not only for him to get on my bed, but for me to help him. I began to make forts on the floor so I could sleep next to him. It was then I realized. I realized he was getting older.

When I called him, he struggled to get up. I couldn't stand to see him exerting himself just to lift his back legs. Then he had surgery, and all I could do was care for him.

That is the least I could offer, considering the sleepless nights of crying or rough times where Swoop was licking my face until I fell asleep. But like I said, it was hard. I didn't really understand at the time. I thought everything would be fine. Right? A simple little surgery, with today's technology it's impossible for something to go wrong.

Well, that was the mentality I carried as I camped out in the front room of my house caring for my chunky bubba I still saw as a youthful pup. I remember he smelled so bad and I felt so guilty for thinking that. My poor baby and I never thought it would be some of his last moments growing old.

That's it. I didn't realize I was watching my dogs grow old. I simply watched it happen and chose to brush off the signs as an annoyance. When they're gone, you just want that smelly breath licking your face when you're trying to finish your homework. You miss being tackled at the front door. All these things you never took a second glance at, you were suddenly appreciating more than ever.

I miss my pup, but I mostly miss my best friend. I miss the best friend that I sat next to while watching "Marley & Me" -- thinking how lucky I was I still had my bubba. It's saddening to watch my dogs grow old, and now know. My naive understanding is gone and I've had difficulty accepting that my dogs won't be waiting at the front door forever.