Archie and Other Pets I have Known - a Tribute

Archie passed away yesterday. He had a good and trying life. He was not a world champion Beagle like Uno. He was a world champion pain-in-the-ass. Like Marley he had demon like energy and was able to eat screen doors and reading glasses with the same voracious and indiscriminate appetite. He knew. Yes he knew if you had no patience for him and wouldn't be suckered in to think that occasional pandering and petting made you change your feelings. My daughter loved Archie. Archie didn't criticize her or give her conditional anything. Archie was always there happy to see her, glad to snuggle and sing along with her. That is the thing about dogs they are loyal and loving to a level unable to be matched by human beings. If there is a "me first" it is when they are in line for treats.

I lost my dog Garozzo three years ago, and Lesley lost Chelsea, Jackie lost Bud and Colleen lost her cat; all since then. We all grieved at the time and still grieve. The animals are fine where they are but we feel the void daily. We were their "rock" and their "sun, moon and stars." Where to find that love again. Oh yes the pet store and breeders and humane society all bring new loves and new hope...but that song "I will never love this way again..." that wasn't written about human love
I am convinced it was written for Archie, Garozzo, Chelsea, Bud and Abbey and all those pets that leave our lives having given us so much.