:: Farewell, Bacon ::
I didn’t really know Bacon.
Until I dropped by at T’s place a couple of years ago.
Three years? Has it been three years already?
I never found Bacon to be a good looking dog.
I never liked Shar Pei as a breed, and the wrinkled look did not
Appeal to me. And never that nonchalance of his.
Bacon was more feline than canine to me.
He would lie at his favorite corner of the house, and
Perhaps bat an eyelid, or give a disdainful wag of his tail
When anyone beckoned to him. Bacon did not bark;
He merely growled when necessary, perhaps just a few times, a year.
Bacon, for a dog, did not explicitly show his canine emotions.
Perhaps it was a trait that he inherited from his mommy, T.
Then again, Bacon was most excited when T returned home, and he would
Stand on his hind legs and would pounce onto T.
My only achievement, methinks, then, is to make Bacon roll.
Over countless rounds of treats and adaptation, Bacon finally learned to roll, one day.
To make a dog roll and expose its stomach, I learned, was a serious act of submission
Which was no easy feat. And Bacon was a proud beast. Like T.
And so, a few rains ago, Bacon started having loose motion.
His stomach started to bloat, and after a trip or two to the vet,
We realized that Bacon’s liver was failing.
There was not much anyone else could do.
Bacon would not eat. We could only see his stomach
Getting bigger by the day. And Bacon naturally grew weaker.
To the point, that, he was not able to go for his walks anymore.
T had to make a difficult decision, to put Bacon to sleep.
And all was quiet in our hearts and minds when Bacon left
The house for one final time. Bacon was a family member, and we are
Sorry to see him go. But we are sure you will have a better next life.
Farewell, my friend.
(For when one life goes away, another one surfaces elsewhere.)