I'm not writing this because I want to be. In fact, it is- along with the surrounding circumstances- something I've been dreading for a little while now. But I promised myself I would do it, so here I am.

I'm just going to be straightforward with this. This morning, my dog died. This wasn't really a shock, as we knew he had only a few days left, and we had already made an appointment to have him put down later that day.* Of course, the fact that I knew it was coming didn't make it any easier for me. Especially not when I was the one who went down to check on him, only to find his motionless body on the floor.

I'm not asking for sympathy or anything, though; if I need that, I have my friends and family to comfort me, not to mention the best girlfriend a guy like me could ever ask for. No, I'm writing this because I told myself that when my dog died I would write something like this, because I needed to get this out of my system, and besides, I figure such a good dog deserves as much. Not quite an obituary, but at least something to recognize that he lived, that he was a great dog, and that now he's gone to return to the earth, but he'll be remembered with much love.

So honestly, I guess that's about all I have to say. I could go into detail about how amazing he was, about his soft, beautiful fur, about how he was the smartest dog I've ever seen, and probably smarter than we even realized, about how he seemed to have a sense of humor the likes of which you don't normally see in animals, but I won't waste your time on such things. After all, everyone always thinks their dog is amazing, and I imagine if you could really put it to the test, mine wouldn't be any more extraordinary than most. What's important is that he brought me great happiness for many years, and I'll always remember him fondly and lovingly.

To be honest, I'm not sure there will ever be another entry to this blog. I don't even really read blogs, and I never really thought it was my kind of thing. But who knows? Maybe I'll use this as a sort of dumping ground for all my random thoughts and ideas. Odds are I'll post at least a couple more times, and when I do, you can expect them to be more lighthearted, or at least not so sad. In fact, if there's anything you might like to see me blog about, go ahead and say so in the comments. Not that I expect anyone to care, but I thought I'd offer.

*(For the record, I'm rather on the fence about whether or not putting pets down in such situations- or for any reason at all, really- is okay, but it wasn't my decision.)