Jack was a dear friend of mine.

His shiny, apricot-colored strands were cascading waves on his body and his tongue held the grand power of giving anyone a smile. He smelled like wood, pine, and all things outdoors, as his rough paws were constantly caked with the flour of the Earth and soaked by the currents of the river. Jack’s amber eyes were humanlike and seemed to be alive in a world of their own, sparked and brimmed and animated with curiosity.

Jack was a dear friend of mine.

His barks at night caused the moon to shine brighter with brilliance, cloaking the treetops and causing the wind to shake. Jack’s teeth were sharp, but he did not ever bite any living thing. I remember running my hands through his coat, and cupping his face in a rocking motion; wanting, whishing, and praying for the imaginable. He softly whimpered whenever you would stop scratching, patting, and holding him, and his cries could be heard throughout the night whenever he longed for a human touch or a cracked bone from the animal store.

Whenever the sun came out, Jack became a golden mass, his fur radiating from the light. We used to walk through the rocky trails in the back of our neighborhood while hearing the birds chirp, the crickets creak, and the pearl, delicate butterflies glide over the tops of our heads. While on his explorations, Jack always embarked on an adventure to find the nearest body of cool, refreshing water in our vicinity, and would eventually become a soaked, dripping mess.

Jack was an old friend of mine.

Soon, vet trips became more frequent. Surgeries and medical bills for his tumors started piling up.  White capsule sized medication hoarded our cabinets, and my mom started searching and making homemade remedies and weird concoctions with savory, spicey, and meaty perfumes that rose throughout our house.

We found him in our backyard, laying on the grass during a frigid, harsh morning. He was letting the faint moonshine touch him a little bit more for the last time. It was a bittersweet moment. His pain no more.

Jack was a dear, old friend of mine-a friend that changed my life.