My Dog
Hooch Jerry Lee

I felt awful the day Hooch died, that I just had put a bunch of responsibility on my parents because I did not want to take Hooch home with me because I couldn't care for him. My parents said leave Hooch with them, they would take good care of him.
It took losing a lifelong friend of 14 years to make it clear to me that a pet or a furry family member is a lifelong friend and companion. This I have learned.
Hooch felt that I, his master didn't want him later on, I had gotten a new dog and didn't come back for Hooch. His heart broke. The years passed and Hooch was hurting from the pain in his hips and it was hard to eat because his teeth were gone from the hickory nut. Then with old age you find out that it's easy to love than harder to hate, so that's what Hooch did for me, he loved me.
Hooch's leg was hurting, and we found out it was cancer. He slept a lot and sometimes I came to visit with him. I told Hooch that the crying and the tears were in the near future. For as I sat and laid by my old friend Hooch, till the last breath he drew, I knew that I lost my friend of a lifetime as I too have felt all his pain through the years. Hooch was sad, and the next week he passed in my Mom's arms, he died of a broken heart or old age, will I ever know?
Hooch Jerry Lee was a puppy until his old age.

© Steven Lokey