It was her dog…
We never wanted it,
Discouraged getting it,
But she promised
To take care of it
With no help from us.

But as we all expected,
She often didn’t.
An emergency call to 911, 
Her radio screams,
And she races off.

So we took him out,
Fed him,
Took him to the vet
As needed.

We helped take care of him,
But she was the one loved him,
And her kids
Loved him.
 
This huge puppy
Who zoomed and bounced off the furniture
And chewed up the shoes and toys
And loved to lick the faces of the unsuspecting.

But unexpectedly,
Tragically,
Our daughter is gone,
An infection she never knew she had
Attacked her organs.

It was my wife who made the 911 call,
And Suz’s colleagues showed up, 
Shaken, but on task,
To try to do that which could not be done.
And our world came to an end,

After the sobs,
The hugs, the rites of passage,
The grief beyond words,
In the midst of the endless sadness,

The dog we never wanted
The dog that she loved,
That her kids love,
That tries to lick me on the face,
Remains.

As does the mundane question,
That must be asked
Over and over,
What do we do now?