I hate to be the barer of bad news, but on November 2, 2015 we had to put down my best friend, Hunter.

I know it’s been over a month, but I was too upset to really talk about it. I usually post a eulogy-type post whenever one of my pets pass away. Hunter and I were very close so I wanted this to be a good one.

I’m not the best at poetry, but once I started I just kind of rolled with it. It turned out to be a bit on the longer side, but nevertheless I hope you enjoy it and it does Hunter justice.

You were a stray when I found you sitting in my yard.
We played together all the time,
We never missed a day.

You walked into our lives just at the right time.
Auntie had just passed away and our dog was not far behind.
So when you watched us load Casey into the car to be taken to the vet,
We knew you were a sign that everything was alright.

“I guess I should take him to the vet,”
Dad said upon realizing you were here to stay.
“We have a neutered two-year-old son.”

You put up with a lot in our busy household.
Two girls under the age of five,
A golden retriever who turned out to be your best friend,
And later along came Chip, your little sister in dog form.

You waited for me late at night to come home,
See my car pull in from the window and come greet me at the door.
You’d help me brush my teeth and then tuck me into bed.

You were energetic and mischievous,
Sometimes you didn’t even act like a cat.
The house was never quiet with you around,
As you used to howl late into the night.

In the summer of 2015,
You got sick—not once, but twice.
We didn’t know what was wrong.

We knew you were aging.
We blamed the heat.
We wondered if it was your time to go.
It turned out you had just lost two lives.

So on Halloween night,
Little did we know,
You were on your ninth life.

We took you to the vet.
“We think his kidneys are failing.”
They said they could run some tests.
“Don’t put him through anymore than he already has been.”

We lost you that day.
It wasn’t unexpected,
But it was just as heartbreaking.

You were probably about 20-years-old.
You lived a long, fulfilled life.
We were happy together,
We were lucky you walked into our lives.

You were mine for ten years.
I am so grateful for those ten years,
But it still wasn’t long enough.

However, with bad news come good news. About two weeks after we had to let Hunter go, we had my sister’s, Lisa, baby shower.

It was a rubber duck theme because it was a gender reveal shower and Lisa loved Sesame Street when she was little and loved Ernie singing “Rubber Ducky.”

We got two cakes, one for people to eat and one for the gender reveal. We brought the gender to the bakery in an envelope so we didn’t know what the gender was. The baker then put blue or pink frosting in the middle of the cake.

It was a lot of fun. We made pink barrettes and blue bow ties so people could wear their guesses. Kris and my mother cheated and wore both pink and blue. I chose blue while my friend chose pink. We were very competitive about the gender.

Of course, I didn’t care what the gender was. It was just getting to the point that I wanted bragging rights.

Halfway through the shower, my sister and her husband cut the cake.

I’m having a nephew!

It still hasn’t quite sunk in yet that I’m going to be an aunt of a little boy.

So aside from reading and writing, that’s what’s been going on in my life lately. And I didn’t even touch upon my friends, work, the holidays… Life is busy and hectic, but it’s been good to me for the most part.