Tyrone Part Three

As we grew up. . .so did he. I remember talking to Tyrone a lot, so he must have been a pretty good listener. I'm sure he heard all about my first day of kindergarten, junior high and high school. . . . . my first crush, my first heartbreak, my first car. . .he was there for it all. We moved the summer before my 8th grade year. He was my friend when it seemed I wouldn't make any. Actually, he helped me make new friends by going on walks around the neighborhood.

He was there to witness all of the changing fads like stone washed denim, french rolled jeans, perms, parachute pants, ridiculously high bangs. . .and he never judged me at all. LOL!

During my senior year in high school, Tyrone's health began to decline. Honestly, I don't remember what was wrong, but his age was catching up to him. He struggled to perform the simplest of tasks and would often just sit and stare into a wall. We soon made the decision to have him put to sleep because the quality of his life was quickly declining. On March 9, 1996, I was working at Best Cleaners. I came home for lunch and I remember saying my good-byes. Boy, that was a tough day. I wasn't ready for him to be gone. I had so many experiences ahead of me that I wanted to share with him. I couldn't remember a day in my life when he wasn't there. I came home that evening and I was hoping everyone had changed their minds. Maybe the vet decided that he would actually make a full recovery and be fine. But, I came home to a very melancholy house. . .without the jingle of his tags, the warmth of his eyes, the softness of his fur. We lost a part of our family that day.

Fourteen years later. . . I still think about Tyrone. He taught me a lot about unconditional love. My life would have been so different had we not been blessed with this dog who someone had literally thrown away. I wrote a poem about him soon after he died (but, what didn't I write a poem about in those days?) I won't share the whole thing. The last verse, however, still rings true today:

I loved my pet, my friend, my own

I loved my wonderful dog, Tyrone.