He Was More Than Just the Family Dog

I hope that others in the community can understand and relate to
what this has to say. I feel confident that many pet owners
will.
I hope that others in the community can understand and relate to what this has to say. I feel confident that many pet owners will.

For those of us who call our pets part of the family, there may be little understanding or compassion for the sense of loss we feel when we lose these friends.

This is offered for all those families and friends of pets who have lost them without the wonderful family of support that we have in our loss of Elvis.

For The Love of Elvis

 Elvis left the house today. Early departure

He was ready, we were not

Lymphoma, aroma, misnoma

The space he left is bigger than we knew

A heart the size of a lion

Followed his nose wherever he went

Bird dog, food hog,

No sense of self awareness

We can now leave food on the table

He’s now unable

To harvest the counter

To harvest out hearts with his deep brown eyes

Our lives revolved around him

In ways we will soon discover

As we feel the empty spaces

His presence used to fill

Harrison’s King of Rock and Roll

Elvis by name and reputation

Champion of the ring and our hearts

In charge of his space with pure elation

Nine years and 30 days

Don’t count the ways he filled our lives

It was not enough, we can’t be tough

With Elvis’s big brown eyes – now lost

He showed my daughter how to win

In spite of odds and opinion

He didn’t know or care

About anything but being there

He made us angry and made us glad

Now his loss is making us sad

It’s never been so hard before

To lose a pet I’ve had

Elvis gave us his time, his life

His love and devotion

Deep as an ocean

There were no boundaries for Elvis

The end was gentle for him

More painful for us

He was ready. We were not.

The space he left is bigger than we know

We cry for ourselves, Elvis

The space you left looms large

We missed you before we lost you

As your spirit began to decline

The last kiss of death’s gentle needle

The last glimmer of hope burst from our chests

In a torrent of tears, he is gone

Smooth as silk in death, as in life, moving on

Shared grief and loss, didn’t want to go out

Didn’t want to go home

With the love of my life

Tonight we feel alone, a loss

No more woo woo, your home

And Elvis is in the house

To say hello, woo woo

I’m here, and so are you – woo woo

No more wagging tail

Telling us we are loved

Just because we are there

Woo woo. Wagging Elvis love

The stairs to the dog living room

Now feels empty, a path to sadness

Elvis left our house today

Gliding into our shared memories

Like a brush across a painted landscape

In leaving he brought us all together

For an afternoon, a long drawn moment

Of family focused on loving one another

This is what a family does

Another Elvis moment

In true kingly style

Without a seconds thought

He showed us the meaning of love

In our grief we felt each other

Father, daughters, sons and mother

Five hours of fresh air on the lawn

In our hearts where you’ve always belonged

The joy you brought our lives

Lives on. Woo woo Elvis. Woo woo.