Bear

by Trace
(Rapid City, SD)

I'll never forget my good friend through most of my grade school years. His name was Bear and he was a Springer Spaniel whose adoration knew no bounds. My mother refused to let him upstairs in the house; she had never wanted a dog, but a little guilt can always go along way. My bedroom was in the basement which made him more my dog, in many ways, than the family pet. Bear loved to sleep underneath my bed (as in, beneath the box-spring suspended by frame) and I used to love to get up in the morning and watch my fairly large friend burst from under the bed in anticipation of heading outside. Bear passed on a few months ago; in his sleep in the middle of the day. I like to think his heart was just worn out from investing so much of it in our lives each and every day.

I love you, Bear.