In Memoriam: Cedar’s Song

Cedar joined our family in January 2022; he was a few months old at the time and still in need of training. He was an awesome dog, though, and was soon out of his puppy phase of gnawing on the kids’ toys and scratching up furniture. He became a part of many of our adventures over the last year and a half, from family camping trips to the boys’ sports practices in town, and he was a frequent companion on walks and visits to the farmer’s market. The kids learned responsibility and also made a new special friend.

Sadly, we had to unexpectedly say goodbye to Cedar last weekend. The hardest part, perhaps, was how abrupt it was. We were outside together as a family (the boys were in the backyard, and I was in the garden) when Cedar smelled something that grabbed his attention. Endlessly curious, with “a need to smell the universe”, as I’ve called it, he tends to hurry off from time to time. Though this was a problem in his puppy days, he’d been getting so much better at coming back immediately when we called him. I called him back when I saw him scamper off, but his curiosity was too strong, and he kept running through the trees that separate our front yard from the county road. A second later, I heard squealing tires and went running.

The couple that hit Cedar were devastated. They had lost their own dog in a similar way near their own house last year. The three of us were crying and hugging helplessly on the side of the road, but that was so much better than having someone just leave him there. I was able to keep the kids from seeing anything unpleasant and located a special burial spot; we planned a little memorial and talked about ways to keep his memory alive, but the first few days without their beloved friend were especially tough.

They say that time heals all ills, and I believe that’s true. We got Cedar when I was far enough out of chemo that I figured my white blood cells and energy levels could handle a pet, and he was a bit of a “support animal” companion and a special friend for everyone in our family. Cedar taught us a lot. Even our three-year-old became more responsible around Cedar. One rainy night early last week, Cedar went outside for a moment just as the boys were getting ready for bed. Our youngest opened the door for him and wrapped a towel around him, saying, “That’s better, Cedar”, giving him an extra cuddle on Cedar’s dog bed before making his own way to bed. Memories like those have me tearing up, but they also remind me that we are so grateful for the time we had with Cedar and his playful, unending joy.