One of my worst nightmares came true today… we had to say goodbye to Marley.
Marls was the best friend I’ve ever had. Since childhood I had longed for a friend like him—with an unbreakable bond just like Shadow and Peter in ‘Homeward Bound’. His company alone was enough to carry me through the toughest of times. I felt like I could have asked him to do anything and he’d fully understand what I was saying and would do it to the best of his ability. Seeing his hyperactive waggy tail and smiley face would never fail to lift my mood. Anyone who knows me will have personally seen the effect that Marls had on me, and how I’d become a much more confident person whenever he was by my side.
He was such a good boy. I know everybody says that, but he absolutely was. We couldn’t have asked for a better-behaved boy. I secretly liked that he preferred our company (his pack) to the company of other dogs. I loved how he was inseparable from his Teddy and was always content with a tennis ball in his mouth. We loved playing hide-and-seek and having cuddles, and he was always so supportive when anybody around him was upset. Like the time when Craig had been involved in a car accident, and Marls didn’t leave my side even for a second, resting his head on my knee in constant support.
I’m so grateful Craig just happened to walk past the garden where he was living as a ~2-year-old pup (and I use the term ‘living’ loosely as he was practically abandoned, eating his food from a broken plant pot). I’m so glad they allowed us to take him off their hands. I’m so glad he came to us so we could give him a better life and surround him with love. I hated our complicated living situation that prevented him from living with me and Craig from the start, but I knew he was loved, cared for and happy at home with Craig’s dad and family.
I’ll miss our sleepovers and our long walks together. I’ll miss him sitting on my feet under my desk to the point where I can’t feel them anymore, or awkwardly lying horizontally on the bed so that nobody could get comfy. I’ll even miss him crying in my face at 4:30am when he suddenly decides he needs a wee. I’ll miss how excited he’d get over presents. I’ll miss running my fingers through his soft fur, and the calming, soothing effect his doggy smell had on me. I’ll miss the sound of his tail wagging rapidly against something noisily. I’ll miss finding his fur everywhere, covering my clothes—because those were his ‘magical fibres of love’, a constant reminder of his presence in our lives.
It will eternally pain me that much of our final year together was stolen from us, and that I couldn’t be there to stroke behind his ear and tell him I love him right at the very end.
I’m going to miss you so damn much Marls. My spud. My pudding. My boy. You lit up my life more than you ever knew, and it was so much better because you were in it. I hope you knew just how much I loved you and how much you mean to me. There will forever be a Marls-shaped hole in my heart. I hope we gave you a good life. Goodbye my friend, I love you.
