Gallery of Love
Welcome to our Gallery of Love, a collective tapestry of kind words and heartfelt sentiments. Each message here is a beacon of love, sent from someone, somewhere, to a cherished person in their life. As you browse through these loving words, we hope you find inspiration, comfort, and a reminder of the beauty of human connection. This gallery is not just a collection of messages; it's a testament to the power of love in all its forms. May it uplift your spirit and encourage you to spread love in your own unique way.
A Dog Named Jack
Dear Jack,
​
I wasn't there this morning for you, and that did break my heart a little bit. I kept thinking about you all day. There were things that I wanted to say to you, and I felt like you would have understood in your way, but I was on the other side of the ocean, and I could only listen to my mother cry as she explained how she had taken you to vet and after lots of hesitation, finally put you down after 13 years on this earth and a vicious battle with cancer. I never knew what kind of dog Jack was, but he was a huge mixed-breed mutt that weighed sixty pounds in his prime. He was famous for his scruffy brown hair that covered his body and grew so thick that I often wondered how he could see.
I feel like pets help us to understand death. I loved Jack more than I could ever express. He was only of the few things about home that remembered me. He smelled me as soon as I stepped in the door, and at first he didn't get too excited. He must have had false alarms in the past, but then he looked up, saw it was me, and bounded up and down for the better part of an hour.
​I think that pets also help us to understand life, though. One human year is seven dog years, which means that every day that they live is equal to one human week. With that in mind, I often think that maybe we should all live a little bit more like Jack. Jack chased cows, and he barked at farm invaders both real and imaginary. He had real passions. He ate peanut butter crackers until he burst. He would drag his pillow and rest closer to the fireplace in winter, staring at the embers. He enjoyed watching CNN, listening to French cafe music, and sitting under people's feet at the bar, waiting for scraps. He hated lightening and when he was scared, he was not afraid to ask for love. He would rest his giant, scruffy head on your lap, look up at you, and just wait for your love to arrive in the form of long scratches behind the ear.
I still hope to one day be half the man that Jack thought I was. I'm sure he was wondering where I was this morning, and I'm sorry that I wasn't there. I was thinking of you, though, sir. Thinking of how you rested against people's knees or your bandana scarves that you always loved to wear. You were a proper cow-dog, and if heaven exists, I'm sure you're somewhere near the fireplace, curled up on a pillow, listening to the cows call out for feed, knowing that love tastes like peanut butter.
