Luke: 1995-2008

Why is it that human grief is so magnified when a dog dies? I don't know if I've ever felt this sad before.

((Yes, I probably have been this sad before. Yes, there are worse atrocities in this world. Still, I am very sad.))

Sleep well my friend.

--

Edit:

So, my sister-in-law's blog post inspired me to write a few good memories about my dog (rather than just wallowing in sadness):

• Having Luke "tuck me in" is also one of my favorite memories. He slept with me when I lived at home. He liked to sleep curled up in the curve behind my knees. When my feet would come outside of the blanket when I slept, he would get up and bury my feet by pushing the blankets around with his nose!

• When Luke was little, curious, and healthy we would play hide and seek with his bone. I would hide the bone in increasingly difficult spots and give him verbal clues and visual clues (I'm looking at the bone...) to find it. He was one smart cookie!

• Luke was my protector. For some reason he was very worried about me when my friend Dave Jacobs would come around. Once, Dave was leaning over to help me up and Luke attacked him and bit his nipple! Yikes! Yet...somehow Luke slept soundly the night that we had a real threat! A man broke into our house in the middle of the night and he didn't even stir until my dad chased the guy out of the house!

• As Luke got more old, blind, and deaf, it was tough to play. But, he still loved our favorite game "got your tail" I would say "Got your tail!" and grab his tail. He would wiggle and jump to get away, only to have me grab his ears and say "Got your ears!" This could go on forever with "got your other ear!" "got your foot!" "got your nose!" etc. I could almost hear him giggle when we played this game.

• After his baths--LOOKOUT!!!--Luke would run around the house at SUPER speed and rub his face on towels, the carpet, blankets, or laundry lying around until his face was dry.

• Luke's feet were ticklish!

• Luke loved to have a "doggy massage"

• Luke was sweet, smelly, loving, and loyal. He will be missed. I've been really sad today--but I have been remembering how playful and cute he was as a puppy. It makes me glad to know that he can run, jump, and play now without pain. I believe in doggy heaven. And I believe I'll get to see him again. Call me crazy--but it makes me feel better.

It's been tough living away from Luke in his elderly years. I would feel guilty every time I hear how bad he's doing. I know my family did their best to make him comfortable and feel loved in his last years. I always wished I could have been there more or done more--but I'm glad for people like Candice who cared about him as much as I did. He will be missed.