FRIEND FRIDAY
I have avoided writing about this for three months.
Four years ago we got ourselves the cutest little puppy dog you have ever seen…I know, besides yours. My daughter named him Blaze because he was black with a white “blaze” down the front of his chest. On the day we picked him up from a quaint farmhouse in West Virginia he bonded with us immediately. As a puppy he was always on the heels of my son and they quickly became inseparable.
Blaze proved to be an extremely smart dog, my daughter taught him to ring a bell to be let outside to go to the bathroom. His four little appendages have never set paw into the kitchen or the master bedroom, because that’s what he was taught. If you could peek in our windows early in the morning you would see him sitting outside our bedroom door quietly waiting until someone got up and let him out, never demanding to be let out…just waiting patiently.
I have so many memories of my morning walks with my friend Blaze in tow and most everyone passing us saying, “What a beautiful puppy!” Though he hasn’t been a puppy for a long time he appeared to be as his part lab and part beagle bloodline and spunky attitude made him appear to be a young lab.
Today Blaze’s picture sits in the windowsill of my kitchen…draped over the photo is his bright red collar and silver name tag. My son set up that little memorial the day after he was killed.
It happened at night, he was uncharacteristically outside, someone walked by with their dog, he went to investigate…there was a car driving a little too fast…it was instant.
As a child we never had pets, with four children and many busy schedules my parents just felt that was one less thing to have to mess with. So…I never knew what the death of a pet might feel like and quite honestly I never “got it” when a pet owner would seem to grieve over the loss of just an animal.
I get it now. Blaze was my friend. He was always happy to see me, was always at my heels and he knew what tennis shoes were…they meant it was time for me to go for a walk, or hike, and he was always excited to accompany me.
My walks are different now. I miss my friend Blaze.
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