First time we met,
You exploded out of your crate,
Charging at full speed,
Towards all life had to offer.

Your soft brown eyes,
Twinkled with ceaseless mischief,
But when one looked deeper,
There was a love of unlimited measure.

Oblivious to where you were going,
You jumped into my lap in the front seat,
Struggling to get your nose,
Out the window to catch every smell.

When it came time for us to head home,
With leash flapping outside the window,
You sat in the back seat, lurching to and fro,
Trying to take in every scene that was passing by.

To sit and stay you learned in a day,
However, walking on a leash was a struggle,
Always watchful for the flying birds,
Ready to follow them into the open sky.

Your walking gait was a brisk trot,
Stepping highly like a frisky Thoroughbred,
Your head like a loose weathervane on a windy day,
Always vigilant for those sneaky little squirrels.

Your coat was a shiny black onyx mantle,
Your shirt was starched white with black speckles,
Your long black legs ended with white stocking feet,
And your Dane tail was black with a fluorescent white tip.

Your bark was a thunderous bellow, so deep and so gruff,
Scaring everyone for miles around who heard it,
As the reverberations cracked open the sound barrier,
Most were unaware of the marshmallow behind the roar.

Your play time with Alvin the cat was hilarious,
As you snarled and displayed your furious teeth,
Alvin merely stood up on his haunches,
And all 14 inches of him, backed you down the hall.

You guarded our meager upstairs apartment,
By snoozing loudly at the top of the stairs,
Ready to pounce and cover with dog kisses,
Anyone asinine enough to open the front door.

Jumping and leaping in the freshly fallen snow,
Losing your favorite bright yellow tennis ball,
You tunneled under the endless layers of white wool,
Emerging with a face covered with white crystals.

Blinking through frozen eyelashes and wearing white whiskers,
You proudly pranced through the drifts with your prize,
The yellow ball firmly clenched between your teeth,
Your head held high, until you dropped it again.

Our time together was so very precious to me,
You shared your unconditional love with everyone,
Your goofy smile and your twinkling eyes,
Won over anyone and everyone we ever met.

You breezed through my life,
A zephyr whirlwind of love,
And as quickly and you came,
You left at same warp drive speed.

Jens Joachim Baltazar
Thank you for coming into my life!
I will never forget you!