Our Sweet Boy Yogi

We got to have you in our lives for four wonderful years

You were so friendly and sweet to us and to anyone you met

You wanted to be friends with everyone you could

Your sweet gentleness and patience were a blessing to our home

Your energy and zest for life, especially when you played with Boo Boo, were so fun to watch

We'd cheer you on in your wrestling matches; your rough-housing skills always impressed us!

     

You loved to stretch out and take long naps, usually near Boo Boo and laying in a warm sun spot if possible; you had perfected the art of the nap 

You liked to chew holes in things--doggy toys, your kennel bed, our deflated bounce house (!!)

But you rarely got in trouble for anything because it was just in your nature to obey and behave well

We've never had such an easy, pleasant dog.

You loved food, treats, and leftovers, sometimes too much, stealing Boo Boo's if you could

You were always especially attentive and hopeful during snacktimes and mealtimes, especially when Sam was involved

You didn't like rain, and thunderstorms scared you, and you disliked coming into and out of the house through the laundry room when the washer and dryer were going, which drove me nuts, but now how I miss this quirky habit of yours.

You were always happy and excited to see us when we came home, even if we'd only been gone for a few minutes. We miss seeing you eagerly waiting for us in the driveway.

We miss your paw prints in the snow; two sets were better than one

We will miss you in all the seasons of our lives.

Your presence in our home was calm and companionable

We miss your sweet personality, your beautiful silky black brindle fur, the way you walked and ran, the clicking of your paws, and your soft melodious bark

We miss stroking the soft fur on your head and playing with your floppy silky ears

We miss seeing you every day and having you here

You gave our family and home love and peace, and we tried to give you the same 

We adopted you and Boo Boo and tried to give you the best life we could, the kind of life you deserved

It was one of the best choices we've ever made.

It doesn't feel the same without you here; you leave a void that cannot be filled by anything but you

We looked forward to many more years together, but it was cut short much sooner than we ever thought it would be

Your last days here were very hard for you, but you endured patiently and courageously for as long as you could, until you knew that it was time to move on to a better place.

One week before he passed away.

Now you're in heaven, where you came from, and where you belong (angel that you are)

You've moved on to a better place, free from pain and discomfort and restored to your wonderful, beautiful prime

Happy and healthy and whole once again and forever.

We hope that our sweet angel Yogi will come visit us once in awhile

We miss you so much and we want to feel of your happy, peaceful presence, because we can't see you for awhile

Please watch out for us, for our home and family, which you always did so well

One day we will be with you again and then it will never come to an end

God is not far and neither are you

You have left your paw prints and your gentle example of goodness imprinted on our hearts forever

Thank you for being you; you were perfect

Thank you for being such a blessing to our family and to your beloved best friend and brother Boo Boo

Thank you for always being there in the background and forefront of our lives, a gentle, reassuring calming presence that we didn't realize how much we'd miss until it wasn't there anymore.

We can't wait to see you again and be with you forever, and what a joyful reunion it will be,

We miss you so much, and we love you even more,

Our sweet boy Yogi.

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Yogi died from complications of a malignant brain tumor on December 12th, exactly a month ago. He was about 5-1/2 years old. We'd only found out two days earlier that he had a tumor. He hadn't been himself for about a month, but we had no idea that it was something as serious as what he had. We thought it was a treatable infection or condition of some sort. When we found out about the tumor, we didn't know that it was malignant, and we planned on getting him radiation therapy and doing whatever we could do for him, but we didn't get that chance. We didn't even get to say goodbye before he passed away because he was at a specialized vet hospital two hours away and he died suddenly in the middle of the night. It has been very hard and heartbreaking to lose him. Our knowledge of and faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ gives us much comfort and peace because we know that he still lives and we'll be together again. And now that it's been a month, I can say that time really does help take away the jarring shock and the painful sting of the loss of a loved one. I'm not good at writing poetry but writing this poem and putting together pictures with it have been therapeutic. I wish I could do Yogi better justice, but this is my best effort on his behalf. He was a wonderful dog and we were and are so blessed to have him in our family.