Max, my dear old dog, you are now at the Rainbow Bridge, and every corner of this house, yard and neighborhood, speaks to us of you. For the last months you could hardly eat, and had to suck water from a baby bottle. But you always loved your daily walk, until you could not stand up anymore. We knew your time had come.

You came to us when you were already 10 or 11 years old. The vet didn't dare guess. You had been caged for more than eight years of your life in an old backyard kennel overrun with nettles. Nobody played with you or walked you, until a brave human snuck in and got you out. You were a true rescue Maxito. You came to join us and our pets, Bailey-another doggie about your age--and Sheba, our cat. We didn't even know if you would be housebroken. But your Daddy, Pete, fell in love with you instantly, and so did I.

At first, you were friendly to everybody, and were always trying to escape; but soon you started to know the difference between your family and "others." That's when our story got interesting. For a while, nobody could come here. Not even our adult son. Once, you even bit Bailey. (She forgave you very quickly, though, and you two became the best of pals.) Many training sessions later, you started to accept visitors, but always looked at them with caution, especially if they got near me. A trainer told us you had bonded with us, and were terrified that anybody else was coming here to take you back. After many months, we got you to see that nobody was going to take you away, and you relaxed as long as visitors did not try to reach for you or pet you. So many people wanted to pet you because you were so beautiful!

You always tried to protect me from strange dogs, or any other dog except Bailey. You were sure they would hurt me, so we could never let you off leash, and some other dog-owners hated us because we had you. At the end, though, everybody that had known you could see the difference in you. Mellow, soft, relaxed, always loyal and watchful, but no longer aggressive or dangerous.

In caring for you, we learned to love you with all our hearts. We knew that inside you was a shiny spirit and a beautiful soul that had been wounded, and was trying hard to heal and to forgive humans. Oh, humans are so stupid sometimes, Maxito. But, like you, some of them are just wounded, dear. I think you learned that, and you helped us see that behind apparent meanness there may just be a hurting soul. Bailey also taught us to forgive. At the end, Bailey laid her soft body against yours, while the vet administered the shots. She was letting you know that she loved you also, very, very much. Thank you, my beloved Maxito. Until we meet at the Rainbow Bridge, you'll be forever in our hearts.