Having a dog is one of the many joys that people get to have in life. I believe that dogs are the only thing that is right with this world right now. Dogs do not care if you are rich or poor, they do not care if you are famous and they do not care about your religion. They will spend their whole life trying to please you and they ask for almost nothing in return (other than food and regular tummy rubs). They will wake you up with kisses and fall asleep by your side to keep you safe. They will comfort you when you are crying and they will rejoice with your happiness. Dogs will never get sick of you, they will never leave you, they will never hurt you.

In my life time I have only fallen in love with one dog. His name is Kava. Before meeting Kava I wasn't too fond of dogs. I didn't hate them but I was intimidated by most. The first time I met Kava he rushed to the door to greet me, and spent a good amount of time by my side sniffing me and trying to figure out who this new person was. I appreciated the attention.

As the months progressed I began to learn the personality of sweet Kava. Despite being nine years old he was a puppy at heart. If I happened to be sitting on the ground he would come over to me and flop down on my lap, belly up, tail wagging, and tongue hanging on the side of his mouth. I thought this was the best thing ever. I learned that Kava had a love for ice cubes, he thought they were the greatest things ever. No one really knew why he was so addicted to them but we gave them to him like treats. If you happened to be getting some water and you pushed your cup against the lever on the ice dispenser on the fridge there's no doubt that in a matter of seconds you would hear him frantically get up and run over to you in hopes that you would give him one.

Kava loved car rides. Probably more than any dog that I have ever seen. He wanted to go with you everywhere even if it was just down the street. I would put him in the back of my Sequoia in the summer time and roll the back window down and he would be so delighted as I drove. His head would be sticking out the window, eyes closed but mouth open and tongue flapping in the wind. On the special days that I would take him to get ice cream he was overjoyed with the amount of people who would want to say hi to him, I mean who wouldn't want to, he was amazing. He would wait patiently in line with me as we got our ice creams. Kava would be drooling waiting for his ice cream and once he got it I swear he could eat it up in less than fifteen seconds.

Kava also loved boating and the beach. When he went on his boat in Florida he would position himself at the back of the boat and watch the world go by as the boat drove around. Swimming was his favorite however, it was amusing to watch him just sit in the water, relaxing, like a true Floridian. He was dangerous in the sand, you could almost count on him rolling around getting all sandy, especially around his nose.

There is no unit to measure how much a dog impacts a person's life. It wouldn't do their love justice. Dogs are not pets, though they are not human there's no doubt that they are a member of the family. You love them just as much as you love your parents or your child, so when you lose a dog it hurts just as much.

On December 6th Kava left us to pursue greater things in doggy heaven. Human's don't know how to cope with death, it's an uncomfortable subject that we just avoid until we're smacked in the face with it. After Kava passed we tried so hard to grasp on to the amazing memories that we all had with him. Looking back at pictures of the puppy I cannot help but smile and be happy at the amazing life that he had. I know that his doggy heaven is filled with all of his favorite things.

As a human, I cannot grasp why he had to leave so suddenly. We always need answers to explain things that we do not understand, saying "it was his time" isn't a justifiable answer even though I know it's true. I believe that dogs are the only thing that is right with this world right now. I believe that Kava touched more lives than he will ever know because he loved us more than he loved himself. He was selfless and loving and no dog will be able to replace the place that he has in all of our hearts.