Dante

✎ What was their first night at home like?
On our drive home from the airport where I picked him up from, he ended up peeing in my lap. I knew from that moment that we were bonded forever.

There’s never such a thing as, “just a dog”, but Dante was so much more than “just a dog”.

He was three when I was hit with the painful, brutal reality that I had cancer. I was so uncertain of how my life would turn out when that news was given to me by my oncologist. Leukemia. Incurable. 10 years max to live.

But I chose to fight and Dante fought with me. When I realized he picked up on my bad pain days better than I did, when I saw how he got in between me and potential allergies, I knew he was more than just my pet. So we trained. For several years. A dog never looked as good as he did in a service dog vest. While it was tough but there was so, so much good in between. Disneyland. The ocean. Movies. Falling asleep together with the wind softly blowing over us.

You helped me fight buddy, I hope and think you knew that. The oncology infusion nurses still ask about you, and miss you too. 10 years came and went and I’m still here, because of you.

You deserved all the kindness and love that the universe could offer you Bubba. In the end I choose kindness for you, even though it broke so much inside me. But I’m going to keep fighting and talking about you until we see each other again buddy. I love you. I miss you. Eat some French fries for me, ok?