The Hardest Thing

Today I had to do the hardest thing I've ever done in my life thusfar. I had to take my dog to get put to sleep. Cookie was nearly 17 years old, which is the equivilant of about 81 human years. He was almost completely blind and deaf and it was too hard to watch him suffer. He was a Schnauzer/Cockerspaniel/Poodle mix and he's been with me since I can remember. I don't know what I will do without him sleeping outside my door in the hallway everynight, and without hearing his barking because he wants a treat. He had a long and happy life and was never mistreated. There wasn't a day in his life when he wasn't spoiled rotten. He was my companion and my best friend and I will miss him very much. The bond between a boy and his dog is not something that can be expressed in words. Cookie was with me through thick and thin, he always knew when I wasn't feeling well. He would lay on my bed to protect me when I was sick, and he was always waiting for me at the door when I came home from school. I love him very much and nothing will ever be able to fill the empty space in my life now that he is gone. We are having him cremated so that he can still be close to us even in death. We are getting a new dog tomorrow named Poncho, hopefully he will help ease the sadness and heartache that my whole family will surely be feeling. And hopefully it will help my other dog, Beezer, adapt to not having his big brother around to take care of him.