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She was absolutely crazy but so loving and cuddly. She didnt like other smaller dogs and was blind in one eye. She had crazy anxiety. But she was so perfect. A gentle crazy beast have you. She was addicted to the red laser light.

—Cozy

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Horace was the sweetest python ever, I'd usually do my daily morning stuff with him around my neck and gave him lots of love, he was about a year old or less and was was cutest baby ever. My favorite memory was when I cried to him on new years about how shitty last year was. He couldn't hear me, but I felt he understood.

—Ash

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Sparky was a white fluffy American Eskimo dog. He had just turned 14 in January. He was my dad's dog but when he moved to Europe last year, we felt Sparky was not in good enough health to make the plane ride. The grief of losing his owner was buried so deep in him that it started to make him sick, no matter how much I doted on him. 

The seven months I lived by myself with Sparky, he was my dog and I know that he loved me just as much as I loved him. We would take nightly walks around by the lake near my house. Whenever I watched TV in the living room he would sit by me, start licking my leg and after an appropriate amount of licks would turn over onto his back and wait for belly rubs.  He'd done that with me since he was a puppy. In fact we were both so conditioned to this exchange that sometimes when someone else's dog approached me I'd instinctively pull up my pant leg and get weird stares from the hosts. 

One time a few months ago, I was working on the floor sorting things on my laptop and he just walked up beside me and rolled over for pets on his belly. It became routine after that. As soon as I was on the floor he was next to me waiting for rubs.

I would go for McDonald's at night sometimes his last month and each time he'd climb up to get some of my fries and a plain hamburger. 

A month ago I took him to the vet because the cough had become chronic and found out that whatever degeneration had occurred, this was the end for Sparky. He could put him to sleep that very day or I could get some medication to help him survive a few more weeks with an improvement to his quality of life. I chose the latter. I needed a bit more time with him. I sobbed the entire ride home.

The meds kept him comfortable and gave him lots of energy and took away his pain but his lungs continued to fail. If somebody off the street saw him they would never even suspect he was so sick.

This last weekend he couldn't sleep through the night anymore and kept us up because he was starting to struggle again. His heart rate was up and he was having trouble breathing when he got up. I had a dream that night about seeing him at a farm surrounded by animals and felt deeply that this was it. I had to end his pain. It was like he was asking me to be strong enough to let go because he was struggling so much. I called the vets office as soon as I woke up.

I took a detour to Starbucks first and Sparky got up and rubbed me with his paw as if to ask why I didn't get him anything. I even wanted to but I didn't want him to throw up at the vet's office. 

Things worked out in my favor. Despite covid-19 protocols I could be there with him until the very end. They set out a blanket for him and invited me inside. I got to hold him and hug him and kiss his forehead and tell him he was going to be okay. That's all that I wanted. I said my goodbye and he was gone fairly quickly.

I saw him take his last breath and then...he was just gone. It was way more peaceful than I expected and he felt loved and that's all that mattered, but the image of seeing him take that breath still haunts me. Seeing him stop being Sparky keeps repeating in my head. He went from staring at me with those beautiful brown eyes to his heart taking its last beat. I miss him so much.

I kept myself pretty calm up until the point where I walked out. Tears were streaming down my face, but once I crossed that threshold of the door I started sobbing so hard I could barely walk. 

Now this is the truly incredible part. I wasn't planning on telling my mom right away. I had to make the decision and go through it for both of us. I had to be strong enough to go through with it. She couldn't.  

Yet, when I checked my phone it turns out that she had called me twice at the exact moment that Sparky passed. 

I called her back and the first thing she said was "He's gone. I know he's gone. I was sitting at the kitchen table with Teresa who was helping me pack. There was two women upstairs packing up the bedrooms as well. All of a sudden we heard this loud bark clear as day as if he was in the hallway.  

Teresa said  "Oh, I guess they're back. Maybe they canceled the appointment."
My mom just stared ahead and said, "No, they went through with it."

Teresa went to look for herself but there was nobody there. She exclaimed, "That's impossible! I heard very clear barking. They must be back" yet, there was no one, not even on the sidewalk outside.

My mom just looked at her and said "No. Sparky came back to say goodbye."

The two ladies upstairs also confirmed that they heard it clearly, as if he was downstairs. His cough bark and then a loud dog bark. He was finally free. He could breathe normally again?

Sparky is gone, yet his spirit came back to say goodbye one last time. He was in pain and now his pain is gone. My dad told me yesterday that he's got 4 sweethearts in his life but one will be gone soon. And he was right. I got to be blessed with the most wonderful, amazing, loving dog for 14 years of my life. 

—Evelina

👀 Click here to see Rose, Horace, and Sparky with friends