The old dog woke as daylight began to creep through the bedroom. He blinked his tired eyes. “Another day,” he thought. Something in the dog told him it was time to get up. He forced his body to move, and slowly, creakily, he got himself onto four legs. Wearily he walked over to the bedside and waited for his human’s alarm to sound. In a moment, the alarm was blaring, and the dog was nuzzling the human’s hand on the coverlet.

​The dog was old, his once ginger fur sandy and gray. He walked stiffly, and was much slower than he used to be. His eyes were often tired, and didn’t see very well anymore. Many sounds got by him unnoticed. His sense of smell was still as robust as ever however, which filled the old dog with pride. Despite his arthritic joints and cloudy eyes, he still followed his human as best he could, and whenever she was out, he waited at the front window for her return.

​Today, the dog kept very close to his human, standing near her feet as often as possible, and leaning on her legs whenever she stood still. He felt a need to be close to her; he worried for her, this wonderful human, and wondered what she would do without him. Who would she walk with? Who would sit with her on the couch and watch the box that lit up with the little pictures? He did not know, and worried that she would be lonely without him. So he stuck close to her side, reminding her with his presence how much he loved her.

By evening, the old dog was feeling tired. He decided to rest, and heavily laid himself on his bed in the living room. The human noticed this instantly, and followed him. She sat on the floor next to his bed, stroking his fur. The old dog breathed deeply near his human, taking in the scent of her, thankful that his sense of smell was still functioning. “I love you,” his old dog heart said. “I will miss you.” He looked up at his human, and she looked down at him, with love and sadness in her eyes. “Please take care of yourself,” he thought. “Promise me you will be ok.” Weakly, he licked her hand. She had tears in her eyes as she stroked him. “I am so tired,” he thought.

“It’s ok,” his human said aloud, as if reading his thoughts. “You can rest. Everything will be ok.”

The old dog felt his tension release at her words, and sighed deeply. The human curled up around the dog on his bed, wrapping her arms around him, and sobbed into his fur. And the old dog closed his tired eyes for the last time.