Goodbye, Walter

It is with much sadness that I am writing this post. It’s going to take a lot of tissues and tears to get through it.

Our dear little dog Walter has passed away. He will be greatly missed.

Walter arrived in our lives about five years ago, but it feels like he’s been a part of our lives forever. I fell in love with him immediately. In fact, before I even met him. I saw his photo on Petfinder.com and I instantly knew that we belonged together. He was my dream dog – small but not tiny, scruffy and smiling.

I will always remember the day that we first met him at the shelter. We asked to see Walter and they brought him out from his cage. Without hesitation, Walter ran into Richard’s arms, not even noticing the other people in the room. It was like he already knew us. He fell in love with us as quickly as we fell in love with him.

He sat on my lap as we drove him to his new forever home. His whole body wiggled with excitement and happiness. And my heart swelled with joy right along with his.

Walter had a golden personality. He was super sweet and affectionate. He loved to cuddle. He was not overly energetic, but he still had a lively spark. Some say that animals can’t smile, but Walter had a big happy grin on his face whenever he was with us.

Walter loved humans. His one desire in life was to be near his people. He never stayed outside in the yard for long; he always wanted back inside to be with us. He didn’t spend much time eating or begging for food; he’d rather be snuggling with us. There was no such thing as “too close” for Walter. He was constantly under our feet (sometimes tripping us), never more than inches away.

Walter did have his quirks (nobody’s perfect). His long fur made his pee-pee get stuck, which made him look like he had a persistent case of red rocket. He liked to lick the floor, even where there was no food residue (weird, right?). He was afraid to jump up on the bed and rejected using the cute little stairs we bought him, so every night our bedtime ritual included picking up Walter and putting him in our bed.

Walter came into our lives when we had no human children. We doted on him. Everything he did was cute (really it was!). Even the way he pooped was cute. I had many pet names for him…Baby Snugs, Waltie, Favorite Son. When I went into labor with Owen, I remember feeling afraid and desperately wishing that Walter could join me at the hospital; his presence brought me such comfort.

After we had human children, I didn’t love Walter any less. He admittedly received less attention. But he remained my first Favorite Son.

You might have heard that good friends are hard to find. This is not true when it comes to dogs. All dogs are great friends and Walter was no exception. In fact, he was more than a friend. He was family.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a dog. Now I find myself without one. Even with a loud toddler and crying baby and cartoons on the television, the house is suddenly quiet. No pitter patter of dog paws on the floor. No warm ball of fur at my feet in our bed. No brown eyes looking at me while I eat, waiting for a treat.

I’m not embarrassed to admit that I loved my Walter deeply. I am so grateful that I saw his photo on Petfinder that fateful day five years ago. He has been by my side through the greatest and most challenging moments of my life. He always made my heart smile. (Thank you, Walter.)

You’ll forever be in my heart, Favorite Son. Until we meet again…