My Mr. Napoleon crossed the rainbow bridge this afternoon.

I know some of you probably saw my post yesterday. I was able to have a service come to the house so my boy could rest easy and painless. Thank you for the comments and well wishes and advice.

Sad start to the New Year. I lost my very best dog. My first dog. My big bear. My Mr. Napoleon. I’m going to miss my Hambone so much. Close to ten years I spent with him. So much love. I hope he felt as much love as I got from him. He was truly the best dog. I will miss everything about him.

His nose. His bark. His fluff. Brushing him. His side eye. The drool. His stench. His hatred of Crows. Frogging, despite not knowing what a frog looked like. His love of chasing chipmunks. His love of hunting for snakes. The sheer look of panic on his face when he actually saw a snake and tried to stomp it to death. Love of swimming in the pond. How happy he was at the Farm. How possessive he was of his bed there. How he would stand in the stream letting the water run through his fur. His stubbornness. The way he puts his face to the wind and lets it blow through his fur so majestically. The fact that despite so many attempts on chipmunks and bunnies and deer the only mammal he’s ever managed to catch was a skunk. Picking birdox from his fur after an off roading adventure. Our morning walks when the birds are chirping and the sun is rising. So many sunrises and sunsets together. High beaming the backyard before our night walks to shoo away bunnies before he saw them. The chore that bathing and then drying him was. How he loves to rip up egg cartons. How he loves his chin scratched. How he loves his ears rubbed. The way he would put his head in anyone’s crotch just so they’d rub his ears. Will miss him sitting on the deck buried in snow giving me the look of I’m not coming inside, go away. The summertime shade walking because it’s so hot. I will miss the mound of snow Dad (Grandpops) made him on his deck every year, covered in a tarp to keep it just a little longer for him. Miss the way any time I was cooking steak he would be 2 inches behind me waiting patiently. I’ll miss the dirty grinch paw prints all over the house during mud season. The way he’d put himself to bed in the tent while camping, and then climb on my bed when I went back to the fire. Drinking water from any place other than his bowl. Like the tub faucet or hose. The pictures I used to get with him running full speed at me. Miss the whimpering sounds he makes when he’s having a dream. Miss him at night when he would sleep by the foot of my bed and snore. The sigh he’d make when he plopped to the floor. When he’d nose me awake because he had to pee in the middle of the night. The way he would hide medicine in his jowls instead of swallowing them. The way he hated the vet. How ticklish his feet are. Hoisting him into the car to go places. Walks with Dad (Grandpops) and me after the market every Saturday. Running my fingers through his fur. How he never got into his treats even though we kept them at his level. Miss him checking on me while I showered. His toe nails clinking on the floor when he shifted his weight in the morning when he needed to go outside The way he attacked dental chews like they were alive. I’ll miss how he scratched his back on clean cool thick grass. How when the snow was too deep he would let me blaze the trail. Or when he would be following me too closely in the winter and step on my skis or snowshoes. His love of bacon. The way in the morning when I came to wake him up for a walk, he would just roll on his side for his tummy to be rubbed. I will miss the joy he brought to my life daily.

I took Napoleon on his last evening walk. His last morning walk. His last afternoon walk. Gave him his last steak. Gave him his last licks of ice cream. Hugged him close. Cried a lot.

Our home will be quieter. Our home will be sadder. I miss him so much already.

5/5/15-1/1/25 🌈