New Year’s Eve Was for the Dogs: A Hard Goodbye and Lessons of Love

What My Dog Taught Me About Love

The Last Time

The last three days have been brutal.

Watching your legs shake as you stumbled through your steps. Seeing you unable to get up from the bed. The light dimming in your eyes.

I knew this day would come.

It came too soon.

I remember the day our 5 a.m. runs turned into afternoon walks, but the sharp, overnight decline of your health this week took me by surprise. If only I had known our last walk in the park would truly be our last. The last time you chased a toy down the hall was the last.

If only the "lasts" announced themselves, we could savor them and treat them as sacred as they are.

Too many "lasts" have happened in the last two days.

• The last time I kissed you.

• The last time I looked into your eyes.

• The last time you nudged me with your nose for more pets.

• The last time your ears perked up at the words “park” or “treat.”

I don’t know when the “lasts” began to equal the “firsts”—but they did.

I kept asking, Googling, and stressing over how I would know it was time.

Until I saw the change in your eyes and I knew. You were tired and ready to rest. It was a painful call to make.

But you taught me love, and love acts even when it’s hard.

Dogs are Love

I’ve always believed dogs are God’s way of teaching us how to love each other.

Perhaps dogs are angels who continue to come back in different furry forms. Or, as my sister-in-law says, guardian angels in training. However, it works I think we can all agree dogs are pure love.

Arco showed me that unconditional love exists. This rainbow appeared on our way home from his burial.

A Few Things My Dog Taught Me About Love

• Love never takes a day off: Love is a continuous force, not something to be given and taken.

• Love is a way of being: Love is not just a feeling; it’s an energy you can embody in any situation. Love is always available because it lives within you.

• Love listens: Love listens without judgment, creating space for the deepest insecurities and greatest fears to be heard.

• Love lets go: Holding onto anger and hurt is optional, even when justified. Love lets go to make room for more love to flow in.

“How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

A. A. Milne / Winnie the Pooh

Arco’s Obituary:

Sir Knight Arco, also known as “Puppy Dog,” was rescued in 2011 from the side of the road in Maryville, TN, where he was left tied to a stop sign. He was quickly adopted and spent the first year of his new life in Knoxville, where he relived his puppy days by chewing through electric cords and digging the carpet down to the subfloor.

Later, he and his family moved back to Nashville, and a year later, they welcomed a little fur sister who would be his constant companion until his last breath.

Arco was a playful, sweet soul. He valued his independence and found great joy in wandering his yard. He befriended everyone, including a lonely deer that would visit him.

His favorite things included long walks in the park where he could pee on everything, chasing his toys up and down the hallway, finding the perfect patch of sunlight, snuggling on the sofa wrapped in a blanket, eating pizza crust, and, yes, humping.

While his home life changed in structure over the years, the amount of love he received only grew.

Arco lived for 15 years and is survived by two loving sets of parents and his fur siblings: Keely, Bode, and Brady.

He left this world peacefully at home, in his bed, enjoying a slice of pepperoni pizza, surrounded by the four people who loved him the most. While it was a hard day, it happened exactly the way a doggy goodbye should—full of love.

Rest in peace Arco, you’re a good boy.