Fifteen years of puppy paws moved outside today.
Inside my heart is breaking,
the Light of my Life - Missy, has gone away.

I held her head, kissed her blurry eyes, and said "I Love You, Girl"
With gentle hands and heavy heart, I released her soul to God,
crying for her spirit to be free.
Never dreamed it would hurt so much,
Guess I wasn't thinking much of Me.

But she must be missing something,
she left her paws upon my heart.
Kind reminders of the time we had together,
I never wanted her to be the first to part.

They tug as fiercely as the shoestrings she once played with;
the tug of wars together, the one's I let her win.
The "tennies", the toys, all the things she loved speak about her passing
and I fall apart again.

Those little puppy "grunts" and kisses seem so far away.
I cry: "What was I thinking?
I said it'd be OK."

I said; "I'll be alright without you, If you really have to go.
No need for you to fret or worry,
we had our chance to love each other so."

Our final road together remains yet to be seen.
Puppy paws can be so gentle,
the pain they leave in passing, so mean.

"I'll hold them safely in my heart", I tell Her;
"but I'll let them run at will.
When we cross the Bridge together,
I know they will be still."

In Loving memory of my best friend and most faithful companion -
Judah Melissa Vader (Missy) 08/04/83 - 11/23/98, Michelle N. Lightner