Dear Bonita,

I would like to begin by saying thank you for all the joy you’ve brought into my life. There is nothing more peaceful than cuddling with your furry form and listening to your soft breathing as you drift off into a blissful dreamland. That is sometimes the only thing that is capable of calming me down after a long, stressful cram session or a hard night at work. Just the coffee-like smell of your puppy breath and the silky texture of your long, brown fur on my skin makes me fall in love with you all over again.

Thank you for dealing with everything I put you through; the pink, frilly dresses, the baby socks, the plastic rain coats, the hair bows. Thank you for being my faux-child, for letting me rock you in my arms while I sing you to sleep, for letting me put you in a chest sling and parading you around like a human, for letting me bathe you and blow-dry you afterwards even when you’d rather run around the house like a rabid animal, rubbing your wet fur on any dry surface within reach.

Thank you for always coming back to kiss me even when I push you away, for loving me again even when I accidentally step on your fragile little paw. Thank you for always so patiently waiting for a gentle pat on the head even when I’m ignoring you and for making me laugh when I am sad by doing something accidentally silly (like that time you fell in the pool). Thank you for faithfully sleeping beside me and your daddy every single night, even with the ever-present threat of being squashed by our massive, human bodies.

Even with the occasional poop eating, and the unsuccessful potty-training, and the incessant barking when you want to play at 6:00 AM, I still love you to a magnitude incomprehensible to your little walnut brain. I can only hope you feel even a fraction of my affection for you. I could never ask for a better companion. Thank you for allowing me to be your human counterpart. I love you.