My Prose Poem

Brutus is my name.

Brutus is strong, brave, determined, fearless, protective, and fierce.

Brutus would fight you until death.

Brutus would chase you down if you tried to do anything to his family.

Brutus would tear you to pieces without thinking twice.

Brutus is the alpha male.

Brutus is the perfect police dog.

But Brutus wasn’t me. I didn’t fit the Brutus standards; I didn’t fit the Brutus bill.

My owner’s didn’t know this about me; they didn’t even care, they got rid of me two months later.

I was never going to have a proper family.

No one would ever want me if my owner’s didn’t want me.

I heard a car and poked my head out the door to see a short woman and a tall man.

They took me home that night and gave me a new name, Jayke.

Jayke is my name now.

Jayke is sweet, unique, fun, loving, playful, and loyal.

Jayke would kill you with love.

Jayke would scare you with kindness.

Jayke would sit on you like a lap dog.

Jayke is the omega wolf.

Jayke is the perfect best friend.

Jayke was me and Jayke was who I would always be. I fit the Jayke standards and I fit the Jayke bill.

My family was the tall man, the short woman, and their child, who I met the next day.

The child and I are the best of friends. I couldn’t think of my life without her and her family.

I’m thankful to have such a wonderful family who takes care of me and who loves me. They are my true owners.

I finally found where I belong.

Years of love and attention go by. We have our laughs and our adventures but I am getting very old now.

Too old to keep going, I can barely walk, I only get up when I need to, I’m deaf in one ear, and I ache all over, I’m dying.

The child that I grew up with has gotten much older and so have her parents, now they have to decide what is to become of me. I trust them to make the best choice for me, I know I’m ready to leave but are they ready?

I wake up one day and get showered with more love than what I thought they could give. I get steak and we play fetch and I got to wake up the grown child just like in the old days.

Then we take a drive, we go to a place with many other people and animals. We go into a room with another human and that other person pokes a needle into my leg.

I look at my family and they look back at me. They tell me how I’m a good boy and they love me. I think of all our great moments, like when I tried to play with a dead squirrel and all of our trips to the beach.

I think of how if I could talk for just this last minute that I would tell them how much I loved them, how I’ve been lucky that they have been my family, I would tell them how it doesn’t hurt, and to keep being a great family to other dogs because they deserve your love.

Soon everything fades to black.

I can no longer see my family anymore; I can’t see our house, my bed, the backyard, or the blue sky.

I am going to a place that they can’t go, where I will wait for them like any other loyal, loving dog.

Even in death a dog never loses his loyalty to his family.