Received word that our dog died yesterday. It isn’t a surprise as he has been sick for quite awhile now, but that doesn’t make the event any less sad. Like all the other pets we have, he was a stray rescued on the street.

We were heading home one evening from my wife’s parent’s house when we came across a dog wandering in the middle of the street. he had a gash on his hear where it appeared he’d been hit and he was nothing but skin and bones. When I got out of the car to get him out of the street, he didn’t try to run away like most strays would - he simply let me pick him up and carry him to the side of the road. he was too exhausted and weak to do anything else. My wife went to get a carrying cage while I sat with him and we took him home.

We named him Genki which means “spirited and healthy” in Japanese since we weren’t sure he would survive. We slowly nursed him back to health only to learn that he had an advanced case of heartworm that the vets said couldn’t be operated on. We turned to the Internet and skeptically tried some alternative herb medicine since that was our only choice besides letting him die. To our amazement, he recovered.

He had been abused - Genki was the first dog I’d ever come across that didn’t like to be petted. It took a long time before we could pat him on the head without him cowering at the site of our hands.

He was also the quietest dog I have ever seen. he never complained and never barked. In fact, I can count the times he actually barked on both my hands in the 2+ years we had him. The first time I was so surprised, I thought that I was hearing things. Up until that point, I has just assumed he couldn’t bark.

While he was quiet when he was awake, he was a joy to watch when he slept. He would make chirping noises, almost like a bird and he always slept the the very tip of his tongue hanging out - the cutest thing ever. In the end, his legs gave out and he couldn’t walk on his own., but when he sleep he’s move all his legs in full motion and there was no doubt he could still run in his dreams.

For the last 6 months while he couldn’t walk, he stayed by my side all day as I wrote here and worked on the sites. Every time I needed a break from writing, I would turn and he’d be there looking up at me.

One part of me is happy that he is gone - vets in Japan won’t end pets’ lives even when they are in pain and I would never want him to suffer more than he had to. But the other part is sad knowing that when I write and I need to take a break, I will stretch and look over my shoulder and Genki won’t ever be there…