Man's Best Friend

"Yeah?"  I answered the vibration in my jacket on a breezy  Friday Summer night as I left the classroom.  It was my sister, who knew I'd be in bible study yet she still called.  I'll never forget the sound of her sobbing as she struggled to put her words together.  It frustrated me as my heart immediately began pounding into my throat.  "What happened?!" I yelled.  I thought it couldn't be my parents since they were here with me.  Could it be my one of my other two sisters?  My aunt?  Maybe my brother?
"Miko got hit by a car.  It's bad."  A mixture of pain and a sigh of relief filled my stomach as I immediately told her to calm down and stop crying as it could have been worse.  She nearly scared me to death, I hated that phone call and wished she had sent me a text instead.  She put on my brother-in-law who was gathered and blunt when he spoke.  "Yeah, it's bad.  He got hit by a taxi."
 "Is he going to make it?"
"No."  My eyes dropped to the deep grass beneath me as if I could go no lower.  I sighed and thought I might as well gather some more meaningless details knowing it won't bring Miko back.

 "We got home, parked across the street and I opened the door and he got out.  Your sisters were waiting to cross and he went towards the sidewalk to stick his head out and the cab dragged him away."
Who let him out?, I thought.  I made sure not to place any blame on anyone because it wouldn't do any good.  I couldn't remember what else was said in the conversation but do remember the pain becoming worse as time went by.  My parents drove us home and felt bad about Miko's demise but they couldn't feel as bad as I did.  Tears began to drop as the drive grew quieter.

The slow night drive became a living nightmare as it finally began to sink in.  I kept my head down trying to hide the hurt as I repeatedly told myself to be thankful for the time I had with my pal.  He didn't deserve to die a painful death.  I should've stayed home to keep him company.  This could've been avoided had I been there.  Nothing lasts forever in this cruel world but at least I could rely on my protector for companion.  The long walks with him would last close to an hour and would usually result in my dad asking me not to stay out so late.  I couldn't help it.  The walks were just as therapeutic for me as they were for Miko.

A scar planted on the back of my right hand will forever remind me of him.  I had provoked him one too many times and he decided to sink his teeth into my flesh to teach me a lesson.  Not one ounce of anger fueled me as I stepped over him and headed to the bathroom.  The cut was brutal but wasn't deep enough to require stitches.  The blood made my throat dry up as I began to feel disgusted.

Upon arriving home, I asked where he was and was directed towards a large black garbage bag laid out near the sidewalk  My sisters blamed the cab driver for driving too fast as their eyes were full and full of redness.  I didn't care.  I wanted to be alone.  I walked past everyone and into my room and thought about how big of impact a dog could have in one's life.  I could still hear his footsteps followed by the tugging of his nails on my legs whenever I came home.  He was not very friendly to anyone during walks, especially if they stared.  That's why my sister walked him in the day and I walked him at night.

The day before I decided I'd walk him around noon since I was off from work.  It came as a surprise to Miko but he made sure to wag his tail and stand by the door as if it were our usual routine.  At one point during our walk, we began crossing the street when a car turned right and towards our path.  I pulled the leash quickly back to towards the sidewalk as I was caught off guard.  That was close, I thought.  Once we crossed we walked past a small seating area with surrounding bushes that we saw every night, only this time something was off.  Miko stopped, turned his head and looked up at me.  His eyes were large and his ears remained hanging softly on his head but I never remembered him giving me this obscure look before.  And I'll never forget it.  I stared back and bent down to grab his rugged cheeks and smiled as I asked, "What's going on, boy?"  Little did I know that it'd be the last time I walked him.

 I buried my head into my pillow and vowed to never own another dog.  It was far too painful to deal with the loss.  I looked on in bewilderment on the night my sister exited my cousin's car and called out to a three year old puggle she had adopted from a Brooklyn animal shelter.  My nephew decided to name him, Miko.  It was out of the blue and I always thought my sister would seek out a puppy instead.  His fur was straight and bronze-like with small hints of black on his paws.  He had short arms which made his shoulders stand out.  My friends would jokingly ask if my dog worked out.  His tail would always remain curled up except when in deep sleep.  We'd always sneak him upstairs when my parents went to bed.  His loyalty was immeasurable.  He didn't care about my appearance or the size of my bank account.  All that mattered was that I was his owner.  Sadly, I wasn't fast enough to be his savior.