Grief; A Time of Love & Loss

This week my family lost our beloved family dog. This blog post is a poem dedicated to him and to anyone who has felt the grief of loving and losing a beloved pet.

Simon

He left this earth in a gracious and beautiful way.

It was on the eve of his 14th birthday.

It was an unseasonably warm evening that my husband and I could be out by his side.

Simon lay in his favorite spot, on our back patio, under the night sky.

He had just returned from a walk in the woods when his body began to give way.

We believe it was a stroke, followed by a seizure, that took him away.

We did not allow the stress of the moment to lead us in a frantic astray.

Rather, my husband and I took a deep breath and chose to stay.

We lay present by his side, stroking him and telling him all we had to say.

“You’re such a good boy, Simon.” “Thank you for being such a good family dog.” “Everything will be okay”.

Enveloped by our affection and our love, he surrendered to his death.

His soul left his body, and eventually, he let out his last breath.

Thank you, Simon, for showing us how it is done.

If only we could all go this way, to die so quickly after having some fun.

Our family has cried and will continue to cry many tears.

Tears of love, tears of loss, and tears of memories from the years.

Grief.

How grateful I am to have loved and lost such an incredible beast.

RIP Simon.