when i was a boy,
Spot,
a black and white Cocker Spaniel
chose me.
she looked like the dog
in our grade one readers
“Run, Spot, run!”
she was a stray
wandering around our neighborhood
looking for a home.
there were other kids she could have chosen
but, she chose me.
our family adopted her.
it changed my life —
i had a friend.
in winter
she refused to go outdoors
in freezing temperatures.
she peed and pooped on our basement floor
with a shovel, my dad would pick up after her
once a week he would spray the floor
with the garden hose
Spot left us
like Peter Pan
when we stopped believing in her
when i walk through the woods
i imagine her, beyond the next bend,
chasing butterflies,
or being chased by rabbits —
she’s with me
always.
Dennis Cardiff: Poems and Prose 
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