Goodbye Checkers

Checkers, the Roemerman family dog since 1988, died yesterday. The Poodle/Lhasa Apso mix provided us with a wealth of memories over the past seventeen years. On balance, Checkers was a good dog, but every once and awhile he was a terror. It is interesting how our memories of his more troubling behavior, when viewed through the lens of time, end up as fond memories. We can look back and laugh at the time he ruined two of my father’s Armani suits because a chocolate mint was left in the pocket, or the time he ate my squirrel tail, a trophy from my first hunting experience. We can laugh at the time Checkers got into and ate all our Christmas candy, or how he would bite my father’s feet every morning when my father kissed my mother on his way to work.

It is funny how we let animals into our house and into our hearts, and how they become a part of the family. We love them despite their faults and miss them when they are gone. We will miss the way he enjoyed cuddling on the couch and how he seemed to comfort us when we were sick. We will miss him because he was a good dog.

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