Tears rolled downed my cheek as I bared the news my dad had told me while driving home from our last football game. “Tyler… there is no easy way to say this but, Jackson… he’s dying. His heart is enlarging and has caused his trachea to collapse, causing him to have little air to breathe. He has little time to live and I want us to make him as happy as we can in his final days, and I did just that. I couldn’t help but cry the whole car ride home. Thoughts rushed through my head like a soaring rocket.

What would my life be like without him? How will Sophie react with him being gone? I could process so little. My head was spinning as if I spun in a chair without stopping. I felt as if my world was crashing all around me. As we got home I couldn’t help but stare into his eyes and shed a tear. I went to bed and had him by my side like always. He was my best friend, brother and most of all a loving and faithful companion. Some days I felt as if all I wanted to do was listen to sad music, thinking about all the wonderful time we had together and just sit there and cry.

Some days I would wonder what would happen if I wasn’t there to be by his side when he died or what would I do if I was there when he did pass away. There was nothing I could do from there on out. I felt hopeless lost in my own little world and couldn’t escape. All I could think about was him, all I could do was sit there with my eyes closed and wonder. What did we do to deserve this? Why is this happening to us? I could find no answer to my questions and I knew I wouldn’t find a single answer either.
Some days I wasn’t home. I decided to go stay at a friend’s house and try to relieve my stress and not think about Jack. My thoughts about Jack were too powerful for me to not think about him. Every waking second I wasn’t with him, I was worried that I would get the phone call saying he had passed and I wasn’t with him when he died. All I could think about was the wonderful life we have given him as a family and to Sophie as well. He was the most important thing in my life.
Jackson was the most loving and caring companion a man could ever ask for. He protected me with his life. He guarded me while I slept, He licked my face while I slept as well to warn me if something was wrong or if he hungry or if he had to go to the bathroom. Jackson was no ordinary companion either. He was the most energetic, funniest, loving companion. Everyone loved Jack but I loved him more than anything.
Jack only four years old, twenty-eight in dog years was on the verge of turning five. We had planned out the whole day for him. We were going to make cupcakes for him on his birthday, and spend the rest of the day with him. All four of us mother father, Sophie, and I. My mother and father had to run to the store and told me to stay home and be with Jack and Sophie. It was the most gorgeous day in September. The sun was out, the sky was clear and you could hear the birds chirping from a mile away.
As I walked into the other room I heard a loud collapse coming from the kitchen. As I rushed into the kitchen, there I saw Jackson laying on the floor gasping for air. A tear rolled down my cheek as I knew what was happening. I held him in my arms, His eyes gazing into my eyes and mine gazing back into his. As he took his final breath, he looked at me and passed away. I could feel as if his soul left his body. All I could do was cry. My mother and father rushed home as quickly as they could. As they walked through the door and saw him laying there, they knew what had happened and broke down into tears.
My mother and father took Jackson and asked me if I wanted to go with them to bury Jack next to Nikki behind my grandmother’s house. Nikki who was my grandmother’s dog had passed away a few years back. I refused to go. I couldn’t be there to bury him. Was it right or wrong for me refusing to bury my own dog? That I do not know myself. He is in a better place now and I know he’s looking down on us with his floppy ears and floppy tongue sticking out saying you guys are the best, thank you for giving me the best life possible.