On Monday afternoon we had to suddenly say goodbye to our best friend, Elmo.
Elmo was not the smartest cookie in the jar, but he was the sweetest. His sense of smell wasn’t worth much, but his imagination must have been glorious because he would create pools of drool long before he ever came close to finding whatever treat we had misplaced for him. And while we taught him silly things like “Sit”, “Paw”, “Wait”, and “Search” he taught us important skills like patience, attentiveness, appreciation for the joy of the moment and seemingly endless love. Elmo and I broke two chairs together, we decimated hundreds of amazon cardboards, spent at least an hour every Sunday afternoon possible napping together. There never was a vegetable that he could not intimidate into submission and we could not put together a puzzle for him that he was not able to solve through a deliberate, energetic pounce. We spent hundreds of euros on dog-toys and in the end his favorite one was an Ikea-bag. He was a goofball, he was amazing, he was lovely. He saved my life when I was at my darkest place earlier this year. I will miss the morning tummy-rubs, his midday reminders to us that there is no need for a clock because he knows when it is time to give him his food. I will miss his snoring, his derpy expressions, his huffs and puffs and his warmth against my feet when he was sleeping under my table while I was working. I will never get the chance again to turn my head and see him snuggled up to Maike on the couch. I miss him so much and there is a huge emptiness now where there was security he gave us through his presence in our lives.
I often asked you “Who is a good boy”. I’m glad I told you just as often “You are the very best boy”.
Thank you Elmo, for all the moments, all the memories, all the joy you gave us. Thank you for your love. You will forever be the very best boy.
