I keep thinking about all the ways you trusted me

 I keep thinking about all the ways you trusted me.

The way you followed me without hesitation.
The way you looked at me as if I could fix anything.
The way you rested your head in my hands and believed you were safe.
And you were.
You always were.
Because love should never hurt them.
Not the kind of love they give us.
Not the kind that arrives with a wagging tail and stays through every storm.
Not the kind that forgives us before we even know we've made a mistake.
Dogs love with their whole hearts.
They don't keep score.
They don't hold grudges.
They simply love.
Again and again.
Every single day.
That's why losing you hurt so much.
Because when a heart that pure leaves this world, it takes a piece of ours with it.
I know some people carry guilt after goodbye.
They wonder if they waited too long.
Or acted too soon.
They replay every decision.
Every appointment.
Every moment.
Every choice.
I've done that too.
I've laid awake at night asking questions that have no answers.
Wishing I could go back.
Wishing I could change something.
Anything.
But when I think about your eyes, I remember what mattered most.
You never asked for perfection.
You asked for love.
And love is what you received.
Every walk.
Every meal.
Every cuddle on the couch.
Every bedtime kiss.
Every whispered "good boy" or "good girl."
Every moment spent together.
That was love.
Real love.
The kind that stays long after goodbye.
Sometimes I imagine you beyond the Rainbow Bridge.
Running freely through fields of endless sunshine.
No pain.
No fear.
No sickness.
Only peace.
And when I picture you there, I don't see judgment in your eyes.
I don't see disappointment.
I don't see blame.
I see the same thing I always saw.
Love.
Pure, unconditional love.
The kind that says:
"Thank you for being my person."
The kind that says:
"You did your best."
The kind that says:
"I knew I was loved."
And maybe that's the message every grieving heart needs to hear.
Because love should never hurt them.
But losing them hurts us.
That is the price of being loved so completely.
The pain we carry now exists because of the joy we carried then.
And while I would never choose this heartbreak...
I would choose you.
Every time.
In every lifetime.
For every walk.
Every memory.
Every beautiful ordinary day.
Because being loved by you was worth every tear that followed.
And somewhere beyond the stars, beyond the clouds, beyond the Rainbow Bridge...
I believe you know that.
You know how deeply you were cherished.
You know how fiercely you are still loved.
And you know that even now, your pawprints remain pressed upon my heart.
Forever gentle.
Forever sacred.
Forever yours.