TRIBUTE TO A FRIEND
On February 8th of 1997 I wrote this Tribute out of the need to express myself. I mailed it to friends who had sent me cards of sympathy, and to special dog friends who would understand. In June of 1998 I updated it with more photos. I completed moving this page from AOL to Homestead in January of 2005.
I made a few typeface changes, a notation, and improvements August 2nd, 2011 but I have not changed the content of the tribute.
The feelings I wrote these words with are still there, my words have not been changed nor has the loss.
I never got around to having a really good portrait made of Dillon and I have been sorry about that. Dillon left me with a great sense of loss and yet sweet memories of a deep and abiding unconditional love. He was an exceptional Boxer and friend. It is a tribute to Dillon that as yet I have not been able to bring another dog into my life nor into my heart.
I still wake up some nights and think I hear his snoring, or his big pads on the hardwood floor as he checked the windows and doors at night. Perhaps he watches over me still.
They will not go quietly, the pets who've shared our lives.
In subtle ways they let us know their spirit still survives.
Old habits still can make us think we hear them at the door
Or step back when we drop a tasty morsel on the floor.
Our feet still go around the place the food dish used to be,
And, sometimes, coming home at night, we miss them terribly.
And although time may bring new friends and a new food dish to fill,
That one place in our hearts belongs to them...
An honest Boxer to the end Fearing neither death nor the devil This was Dillon My Beloved True friend
A friend printed this page out and gave it to a person that means a lot to me. He in turn, with great kindness and feeling, let me know as only he could that he understood my loss. Knowing that a person went out of their way to let you know they understand and feel for you takes some of the sadness from your heart and gives encouragement.
On the day I had planned to remove this page I received two e-mails from strangers who had read this tribute. They were not the first strangers to write to me about my story of Dillon. They are strangers no longer for we share that special love of the Breed, and the love and appreciation for the wonderful individuals that we are blessed with in our lives. They told me of their own losses, and how my story of Dillon had reminded them of their Boxer. While reading this tribute they were finally able to let out their grief. If in some way Dillon and I have helped another to come to terms with their loss, or made it a little bit easier to cope with I am grateful.
Towards the end of 2004 I received an e-mail from a nice woman who had found my page for Dillon on AOL and read it. She contacted me and wrote a very nice letter which touched me. Following that initial letter she has written several times and included photos which I enjoy so much. She has a Boxer puppy, and named him 'Dillon' after my own Dillon.
My Dillon... always in my thoughts, and in my heart.
June 8th, 2009, I decided to add a Guestbook, for the heck of it. Feel free to leave your thoughts. Thank you for looking at my page. May you be blessed with the same kind of friend I had in Dillon.