Amicus Black died on October 29th, 2021, just after noon. He was 15 going on 16.
My best friend and stalwart partner in crime.
We haven’t kept up this blog at all, really. Too busy having adventures together.
The hundreds and hundreds of hikes.
The trips to Vancouver when my mom was still alive, the walks around the seawall and at Ambleside Dog Park.
The trips to Comox for my dad’s eye appointments. Frolicking on the beach waiting for the ferry.
The trips to Ladner and Sechelt to see Steve, Rhonda, Sofie, and Le-le and Kecia and Simone.
The trip to Alberta with Dad and Steve to visit Kevin before he died.
The trip to Vancouver for Mom’s death and then a month later her funeral.
The trip to Alberta with Steve and Tara to scatter Dad’s ashes. Now, I have Ami’s ashes on my shelf beside a golden glittering candle.
All the playing ball and Chuck-It on the huge field behind the old school.
Chilling out on the couch watching Netflix, grinning at each other with such unconditional love.
How he’d play with his good dog friends, Farther, Leo, and Sole; all three of them now gone, too. And the fun with his best friend, Franklin, who thankfully is still running strong though getting on himself.
Ami went through it all with me and me with him: when my mom died; Ami’s surgeries, his two run-ins with Canada Post, my broken ankle, when my dad died, all the poetry and slams, all the turmoil and mess of life, swimming and plunging into rivers, lakes and the Pacific Ocean.
Climbing small mountains. So many hikes.
The yummy food and treats. How he loved slurping freshly flushed clean toilet water.
It was the best life.
Certainly, the best years of my life so far.
Amicus was freaky smart, had me wrapped around his big dog claw.
I swear he smiled and laughed as much as I did.
He slept up on my bed
until he couldn’t.
Then he slept on the couch
until he couldn’t.
Then he slept on a big comfy dog bed on the floor.
All the times I lay beside him, his breathing presence such a constant comfort; brushing him, cleaning his ears (he LOVED that), putting warm towels from the dryer on his aching arthritic back legs.
We just always were.
We were.
Together.
He knew me inside out and I knew him the same.
I felt somehow defined by Amicus.
I think he felt the same way.
We completed each other.
Pinky Stinky, I love(d) you with all my heart.
I will honour and miss your company forever.
I hope we will meet again in another life, my dear friend.
And, Amicus Black,
you were the very best boy.
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