A Dog Who Once Lived …

 . . . inspired a human to live a fulfilling life.

On the date of June 9, 2009, I lost my soul mate, my hero, my wise sage, Piezon (aka, Bubba). I honored him on the petloss message boards yesterday. I honor him every year on the date, and since last year was the first time I had this blog, I posted about him here.

I still think of him every day of my life. I know it may seem odd to some, but I can’t even begin to explain the marked impression this dog left on my life. He came to me at a huge turning point. I had to decide whether or not to pursue motherhood in a different way. He grounded me, and I made my decision. He filled all the roles I needed at that point. He became my son, my parent, my sibling and my friend. Back then, I wrote a poem about how I lost all of those relationships when he left. I won’t post it now, I don’t want to make this about the grief, but about honoring his presence in my life. 

I’ve written a  lot about Piezon, even before he died. A short story I wrote about him when he was still alive and healthy was published in the book Dogs and the Women Who Love Them.

When I grieved, the poetry overflowed out of me like flooding waters. I now have lots of poems about a dog who once lived and inspired a human to live a fulfilling life. Thank you for supporting me in his memory. He loved everyone, those of you whom he met, and those of you he would’ve loved to have the pleasure of meeting.

My husband and I couldn’t figure out who took this photo (below). We always joked that Piezon must’ve held the camera out and taken a selfie.

Here is the tree we planted in his memory. We call it the Pie Palm. You can see how much it’s filled in since last year, here.

May you be frolicking in paradise my sweet boy, amongst angels, and grandma, of course. Until we meet again.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened. ~ Anatole France

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