of all the things i'll miss about you, i think i'll miss the way your big brown eyes looked up at me the most.

already, i miss the way you'd greet me at the door; that stub of a tail wagging and your whole body shaking with excitement.
i miss laying in the grass with you by my side and just forgetting that anything could ever be bad.
i miss waking up in the mornings to see you patiently waiting for me to wake up. i think your staring is what woke me up anyways.
i miss the excitement you felt everytime you picked up a new squeaky toy, and the way you'd shake your head and hop all over making that thing squeak.
i miss the way you'd tilt your head to the left everytime you were spoken to.
i miss the way you would do your best to climb into my lap everytime i sat down.
i miss looking in my sideview mirror to see you with your head hanging out of the backseat window, tongue flopping away in the wind.(i don't know if i'll ever be able to bring myself to wash away your giant paw prints from the back seats of my car..)
i miss the way you used to get excited over the first snow fall of the season, and i miss watching you hop like a rabbit to make the snow fly up in the air.
i miss the way you'd look up at me when it was raining outside as if you were asking, "do i have to go out there?"
i miss the way you wouldn't leave my side anytime i was sick or sad, and how you always just knew when something was off.
i miss the way you'd sit on my feet, because there was no place closer than that.
i even miss your stinky breath, finding the trashcan knocked over in the morning, and having to mop my room after you marked your territory.
i miss how excited you'd get over a new bone and how you'd chew it constantly for hours until the whole thing was gone.
i miss going for walks with you and how excited you would be just by glancing at your leash in my hand.
i miss hearing you scoot your food bowl across the kitchen floor because... well i don't really know why you did that but it always made me laugh.
i miss having to step over you in the middle of the night to get to the bathroom, because there was no way you were waking up or moving in the middle of the night.

i remember the time i left my dresser drawer open, so you ate holes in all my socks and underwear. i was so mad but couldn't help but laugh at the mess. so with the remaining socks that no longer had mates, i made a toy for you so you'd stay out of my clothes. i tucked three socks into eachother, and stuffed it with stuffing. i sewed up the end and put a face on it. and even though any other toy that delicate wouldn't have lasted ten minutes, you made that toy last months and you were so gentle with it because you watched me make it just for you.

i felt so terrible the time you blocked me from leaving out the front door because you didn't want me to leave again. i sat in my car choking back tears because really, i missed you that much, too. it was so hard to pull out of the driveway with you staring at me through the front window.

i love how you loved everyone and everything as if they were your new best friend.

i love the way you'd bark and make all sorts of noise, until daddy picked up his guitar and started playing again.

i remember when you were at my school for a football game and a little girl wanted to pet you, but you were too big. so, you laid down so that you were just at her level and i think you made her day.

i'm the luckiest kid in the world to have had a dog like you. no one, or no dog, will ever replace you or the way i felt about you. it's so hard to believe that two days ago you greeted me with your special greeting, and now you're gone. i love and miss you, Max. rest in peace, boy.