Chipper greeted Nick and Piper at the door when they arrived home, wagging her tail and signaling that she needed to go outside to relieve herself. Nick was happy to oblige.
“Outside?” He asked as he grabbed Chipper’s leash.
Chipper barked.
Chipper hadn’t been the same over the past week, spending more time than usual curled up in her dog bed. Piper had an appointment to bring her to the veterinarian the next day, just to be sure that everything was okay. She was getting older and becoming frail, having out-lived many dogs of her same age and breed.
Piper headed over to the couch, where she figured she would finish reading an old classic by Max Weber, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.” She propped a pillow for her feet on the coffee table and plopped down.
“Piper,” Nick hollered from the front yard.
“Piper, come here!”
Piper ran to the front door where she found Nick carrying little Chipper, whose body appeared lifeless.
“What happened?”
“I walked her and she just collapsed. She’s passed, Piper. She waited for us to get home so she could give us closure. Must have known it was her time.”
Piper put her hands over her mouth and closed her eyes. Sadness overcame her. That little dog was such a blessing and could never be replaced. Tears formed in her eyes as she took a deep breath and tried to maintain her composure while trembling.
She followed Nick back into the house in a silent shock and watched him as he gently placed Chipper’s body in her dog bed and covered her up with a blanket.
“I had an appointment with the vet tomorrow,” Piper said.
“Well, that’s where we’ll both be taking Chipper tomorrow. How sad.”