Letters to the Editor: It’s tough saying goodbye to your best friend

It’s tough saying goodbye to your best friend

I never thought I’d ever be writing a dog’s eulogy but then I couldn’t have imagined the friendship I would develop with Dixie.

When we laid her to rest last week, my wife and I said a sad farewell to a member of the family and now the house seems to mourn her as well.

I know it’s not uncommon for others to express much of the same feelings — maybe there should be support groups to deal with all the grief — but the family hound was much more than a pet. She often served as a third child after ours had grown and moved out.

What’s more, she was the best friend I ever had, even if our relationship lacked the same quality as a two-way conversation between humans. Somehow she always seemed to make her opinion known.

Oh, the adventures we had, exploring our local forest preserve, at least once a day and often twice. I’ll never forget her encounter with a family of deer; she was absolutely mesmerized, as were the startled forest inhabitants.

And though Dixie was never overly affectionate, it was simply impossible not to love her (even when she munched on our cupboard door or rummaged through the garbage, as was her custom).

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Maybe I’ll remember her best as the frightened child who needed comforting when the Fourth of July fireworks went off or on the rare occasion when she injured herself.

The truth is I needed her much more than she ever needed me, a fact that’s been driven home all the more now that she’s gone.

While it’s hard not to remember her final days, when she was slowly losing her battle with old age and disease, I’ll forever recall the puppy whose tail never stopped wagging on our morning sojourns or the faithful companion who occupied a special place alongside my bed as well as my heart.

So long, buddy.

Bob Ory, Elgin

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