"More than a stunning debut. It is the announcement of a bold new literary voice"
—Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower

It’s been over a year since we had to make that terrible and heartbreaking decision to let you go. It seems having dogs, or any pet for that matter, always ends with some form of sadness. We know you didn’t live a good life, you lived a great one. We all knew someday you would move on and go to wherever our bundles of energy go. Is it called “Doggy Heaven” like everyone says it is? Anyways, you just happened to deteriorate in health so fast. The whole process wasn’t slow it was a quick end. I think you made the most out of your 12 years though. I remember the first time I saw you as a puppy just going nuts because you were a labrador that didn’t know what sleep was. I can’t say you were one of the brightest or sharpest knives in the drawer but everything you did was for us. It seemed as your main goal in life was to make us happy. Humans have bad days. We get caught in our emotions, for better or worse, and we don’t bring that same energy and enthusiasm to our loved ones everyday. You never had a dull day. You were always there to cheer us up and go fetch your toy, even though you never brought the toy back. You were the dog I grew up with and that was the worst part. It was my first major loss in my young life. I felt going into it that I would be able to cope and deal with it all. I was wrong and as hard as it is to say that’s a good thing. You made my life so great that you made letting go difficult for me. The whole family is doing great and all misses you. We haven’t got a replacement because how are we supposed to replace a dog like you. Bailey is doing great. He had a hard time dealing with it the first couple of months but has seemingly pushed through. As hard as it is to believe he’s even lazier now. The cat is still the cat. Some days it will hit me hard and I will remember all the dumb things we did. It sucks just not having you around. Every time we went outside I remember you being there and we all took it for granted. No matter how far we walked or how hot it was you always followed us. It was almost just a sense of comfort that we lost. You know Bailey isn’t leaving the couch to follow us. On that final day, I tried to make it worth remembering. It was the first time we ever saw you without some energy. Your tail wagged until the end though and that was the amazing thing. You were just as happy to be with us for the last time as you were every other time. I realize you can’t read this but hopefully you feel the words. I hope on reuniting one day down the road, and bringing the same joy as we always have.