Farewell, Oreo

A Tribute to Pets Loved and Lost

Our pets are superheroes. Whether we recognize it or not, they represent us at our most basic, at our best. Like any true superhero, our pets exist for all that is good in life.

The first time I saw Oreo, I was 13 and taking a break from the strains of summer life in Vermont. My parents called my sister and I into their cabin to unveil their surprise, and I saw her. Her coat was as black and shiny as a polished lump of coal. She was so terrified and vulnerable, my heart ached with empathy for her. We vowed to give her a good home.

Her trepidation didn't last. It wasn't long before she was barreling around, making a complete fool of herself, and winning the hearts of everyone she encountered. It was impossible to resist falling in love with her kind and gentle spirit.

Oreo grew into her superpowers quickly. She could run faster than any dog she met and seemed to defy gravity with her bounding leaps. Chasing cars, barking at the UPS guy, and retrieving any and everything she could get her paws on were just a few of her many death-defying stunts. She was beautiful, brave, loyal, and stubborn. She was Oreo.

Like many dogs (and superheroes), Oreo had an uncanny ability to sense suffering and need. She would often come to my room to comfort me when I was sad and in the midst of clumsily bushwacking my way through the akward teenage years when molehills were almost always mountains. Even as I became an adult, I found answers through reflecting on her philosophy of life. She served as a constant reminder that what I needed was right in front of me. That life was never as complicated as I was making it, and that there was nothing a good belly rub couldn't fix.

People often argue that pets come to resemble their owners. I'm inclined to think it is the opposite. We often long for the simplicity of their lives, their ability to love so boldly, so fearlessly. We envy them lying belly up in a patch of sunshine allowed inside by the window, careless and without worry. To us, what they value is enviable: to enjoy a good meal, to be loved and show unabashed love to those most important to them, to provide safety. They will fight for what they believe in, because right and wrong to them is entirely black and white. Indeed, they are worthy of emulation.

This is what makes it so difficult when it comes time for them to leave us. They become our companions, and a representation of our best selves to the world. And when it was time for Oreo to go, true to character, she was stubborn to the end. She never would've given up the battle on her own. She would never admit defeat.

The consolation of her having lead a good, full life does little to muffle the sorrow that comes with her absence. But every superhero must fall. It is in their inevitable downfall that they become legend. As mere mortals, all we can do is remember who they were and what they stood for, and hope that each day we find the courage to be a little more like them.