A Tribute to Precious Yuki

When I brought you home as an 8 week old puppy, over 7 years ago…he had no idea how you would change my life and how you would be the one constant in the transition from a clueless, selfish, single 27 year-old to the man I am today.

The beginning was rough, let’s face it. You cried the entire 2 hour ride to your new home…scarred and alone with a stranger. I sat you in the front door and you proceeded to do your business all over the carpet. You kept me up at nights for months, the crate training not nearly the simple procedure I had envisioned. You ripped up carpet, you gnawed away at furniture, you shattered into pieces lamps, plates and all manner of objects onto the ground.

But it became ritual and you got all the walks, all the playtime, all the love you wanted and in return you gave me every ounce of your devotion. Through confused, tough times in my life we both eventually found our missing in you ‘mom’ and my wife, Amanda and you also got an extended family of furry friends. From your romps from the front door up the stairs…to your stubborn “talking” demands for treats or walks or whatever it was you knew you could easily get from us…to you curled up on the couch quietly in the afternoon…to you eagerly and always with smiles and shouts and often peaking out the window, awaiting our arrival back home from work or wherever we were - you, my girl, were intertwined in almost every minute of our lives.

A few weeks ago, you made it on to the front page of OfficialHuskyLovers and as your mom and I beamed with delight we could see in grinning smile that you approved of all the attention. You were beautiful and you knew it. Nothing gave you more satisfaction than that… …nothing except our Sunday fundays together as a family. A special day of the week, devoted to you and your ‘brother’ Scooby…extra long walks which you loved, in your favorite neighborhoods, parks and trails often followed by special treats for the doggy bakery. Our favorite day of the week and you were always the centerpiece of it.

This Sunday morning, you were eager as ever for us to being the day. Jumping and talking and smiling and ready to go. Except when you got out of the car, instead of running around like a mad lady, you simply sat in the grass. Concerned at your abnormal lethargy, I saw that your gums and tongue had lost all color. We immediately rushed to the animal hospital. I held you in the back seat, calmly speaking to you to hold on and holding you tight. But I could see the normal vivaciousness slipping from you, your breathing becoming hard. They rushed you to the back and the doctor eventually came and told us you were barely holding on from the nastiest and most sudden of maladies that can strike a furry family member - Hemangiosarcoma. A cancer that does not present itself visibly until it is too late…a death sentence that had probably been developing inside you for yours and neither myself or even you knew it. As we mulled painful decisions about surgery and chemo that at most would extend your life a short few months, it even that - you made the decision for us and slipped away quietly.

The shock, the pain…the hole in our family, in our lives was cast a pall around us on this, our Sunday funday. This Sunday was the worst day of my life. But as we move forward and grieve and remember you…behind all the tears is a lifetime of joy packed into 7 all too short years. I shaped you into the dog you were but also shaped me into the man I am. And I will forever remember you, my best friend, my precious girl - as the energetic, smiling, howling, shedding, beautiful light in my heart that will glow forever.

We miss you and love you!

R.I.P. - YUKI By: Byron Kurogi

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