Hudson

"He's my soulful one."

That was how your foster mom described you when she watched you walk up to us. Our puppy search had led us to Warrensburg, to the house of a woman who fostered puppies rescued from the south out of her home. She had a newly acquired litter there; four puppies and their mom. All of them were jumping all over each other in excitement, but only one quietly approached me, tail wagging, asking with his eyes, "are you the one?"

We knew from that moment, we had found our dog.

For 15 beautiful years we shared adventures and quiet moments. We've climbed mountains, we've swum in lakes and streams, we've cuddled on the couch. You've licked our tears from our faces, and made us laugh uproariously. Your zest for life and unbridled happiness was an inspiration to us all.

That's what makes it that much harder to say goodbye.

I don't quite have the grace to summon all the words I would like to say to describe everything you've meant to us. I just don't know if I ever could. But that grace was present the moment you picked us. And it was also there the moment we let you go.

There won't be another one like you. We'll love you forever, our dearest boy.