Tribute to Pongo

As most of you know by now, Pongo is no longer with us. We couldn't begin to explain how important he was to us, but the video below provides just a sample of how many memories we shared with our best friend.

We will miss the puppy in him. The one who when he was younger would wag his tail frantically, almost violently, when girls came to the house (he loved the ladies). We'll miss pulling up to the house and seeing him waiting for us by the window, and the way he snapped to attention and ran for the door when he recognized our car.

We will also miss the older dog he became: how he would often defy his age with inexplicable onsets of energy and run around the house like a maniac, ready to play for hours. We'll miss the way he'd race the neighbor dogs along our fence line and bark at the end if he won. And when we knew he was too tired or lazy to play these games, Shanon used to gently rub her finger between his eyes to put him to sleep; he'd try to fight it, but he would usually succumb by finally flopping his head down to sleep and letting out a little sigh. It worked like magic.

We will miss these years, and all the the years in between: the way he'd show his teeth when he smiled, the way he'd gently growl and playfully bite at our hands when we were massaging him, how much he loved the water, and how crazy he'd go when it snowed - man, did he love the snow. . .

These are some of the things we remember about him, but not even a fraction of what we will miss. We will miss his love - the totality of it, the way it manifested itself in kisses and cuddles and memories, and the way it radiated from his energy and presence.

He was loved deeply and will be missed immensely.