Climbing the stairs Benjamin saw the familiar tops of his parents’ heads come into view at the kitchen table. But this time Carol and Tom looked sad as their son’s half-awake body came lazily into view. They knew he was about to have a very hard day.

“Good morning,” the boy said, taking his usual chair at the table. He looked around. “When’s breakfast?”

His mother’s eyes teared up. His dad tried to sound normal, but his voice cracked. “Son, you know how Pugsly has been acting lately….”

Benjamin looked confused. “No.”

“Well, I think he hasn’t been feeling so good. He’s…he’s old.”

“Well, then let’s take him to the vet.”

Carol couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Ben, Pugsly died last night. We found him outside by the garage this morning.”

Benjamin was stunned for several seconds, then his eyes started watering. “Oh…well…I guess he was a really…old pug. Older than…most pugs live…right?” He tried to make sense of the sudden sad news.

His mom was quick to reply. “Oh yes, sweetheart, he was a very old pug. And you gave him a wonderful life. Dogs just don’t live forever.”

Benjamin didn’t hear a word she said. “Where is he?”

His dad stood up. “In the garage, son. I wanted you to have the chance to say goodbye before we bury him.”

Benjamin opened the garage door and walked slowly to the lifeless dog lying on the blanket they’d put in his bed years ago. He stared at his face, and the little red scratch he got on his head the other night from a brawl with another animal.

His dad came up behind him. “We need to do it quickly, son.”

Tom found a shovel and walked in front of Carol as the boy carried his best friend in the blanket out to the backyard. Rain sprinkled on them as Tom shoveled the soft dirt behind the tool shop. Benjamin’s body felt numb at the thought of no longer having his best friend. He tried not to look at Pugsly’s face–he knew for certain he would cry. But his overwhelming grief made tears uncontrollable.

Benjamin squatted and rested his dog across his knees. Memories swirled in his head: the day he got Pugsly…how they used to play in the autumn leaf piles and in the winter snow…how at dinner the dog sat patiently on the floor beside his chair, looking up with the cutest face, waiting for food to be dropped… Pugsly’s loud snoring at night after a long day outside. It was all too much to say goodbye to.