On Shuffling Off Floofy Coils

I was digging around my post archives and this surfaced from years ago. I thought it might be worth reposting.

Bobby Dog shuffled off his floofy coil on Saturday. He was the best doggo I'd ever met—my four-legged soulmate and favourite friend. Yesterday, a friend and I did Bobbalicious' favourite walk together: the estuary he used to race through as though he had wings.

I've never been good with death, but when my mentor died 20 years ago, he left us a lesson about grief. He said that he didn't want those he'd left behind to remember him, but rather those values in which he rejoiced. Brothered in tomorrow's generations, he said he would have his continuance.

I spent my hardest months trying to live out his directive. I never succeeded, but I found out that trying brought him back to life. Lionel might have shaken off his mortal coil, but his spirit remained. Those who loved him channeled it to keep him alive. Asking, "What Would Lionel Do?" soothed my grief a little. It took away the finality of his death and gave me something new to celebrate. I never stopped using his values as my spiritual compass. It's taken me to many beautiful places. He and I have had hundreds of adventures since his death, so I don't cry over him anymore.

So what would Bobby dog do? Well, that's easy. He'd run as though the very sun was chasing him. He'd stop to smell every blade of grass. He'd plant kisses on every willing nose. Most of all, he'd be a crazy, magical super freak, because that's exactly who he was.

Sitting over his body in the minutes after his death, Bobby's owner told me how much he loved me. He said on cold nights, he'd rather dig a hole near my door than go indoors. He was always waiting for me. Bobby spent his first few years severely neglected, but he didn't hesitate to give me every ounce of his love. That's one of the thousand things that made him special.

In the four short years we were friends, Bobby healed me by giving me a million kisses every day. I'm ready to live out his biggest lesson: to love as though brokenness doesn't exist and everyone lives forever.