SHADOW:

Our Life, Our True Love, Our Very Best Friend

The saddest day we've ever known
The day you went away
Our hearts so badly broken
We had so much left to say

So many walks left untaken
So much love we had yet to give
Too soon you were gone from our life
And we don't even know how to live

You were the reason for everything
We built our whole life around you
The reason for sunshine each morning
and the reason to hurry home to

The sadness we felt every morning
Sharing kisses and hugs and goodbyes
We'd hurry home as fast as we could, Pug
So we could be by your side

We'd tell you to be a good boy today
And watch over your sister and brother
With a promise of walk sometime later
And that we'd soon be all back together

So how do we make sense of the mornings
With no sweet face to greet us with joy
How do we get through days of meaningless
When the reason for all was our boy

How do we find reasons to go on
When the reason to live is now gone
You were our reason for everything
Now all that is left feels so wrong

We hoped and built dreams around you, Shadow
You were the reason we were who we were
You gave us such love and happiness
We're just nothing without you here

You were the reason we planned around
The WHY to all that we did
The reason for hoping and dreaming
The reason that we really lived

You have gone before us
And left us to grieve alone
I know that you still watch over us
You must know we're no good on our own

I know you would want us to be happy
Move on, live our life and still smile
But without you we can't find the reason
And we're not even sure we now how

Right now we are grieving a loss
So unlike anything we've ever known
And how do we even begin to pick up the pieces
And try to smile and move on?

We feel your loss so deeply
To the very depths of our heart
The pain so great it numbs us
The emptiness of us being apart

Shadow, we feel the love that you gave us
It is in everything that we do
We know you were a once in a lifetime
And there will never ever be another you

But where do we go from here
Now that we had the best there ever was
Do we pick up, move on and be happy
and be thankful we were the Lucky ones

Do we try to go on and remember
How much you meant to us with every new day
Do we try to put on a smile and be happy
When your gone and we have to stay

We just don't know how to do this
We know we still need you here
Giving us guidance and understanding
Calming our hearts and our tears

We need you to show us your happy
And that your ok wherever you are
And hold our hands when you need to
As we'll forever hold you in our hearts

Our Best Friend, Our Big Boy, Our Shadow:

You've given us the best years of our lives
And because of you we are far better humans than
ever thought possible. We are sorry if we ever disappointed you
in any way or ever let you down, we never meant to hurt you in any
way. We loved you beyond life, and you were way
bigger than life itself. We cannot even begin to tell you how
much we loved you, then, now and forever, but we do know
that you hold the most special place in our hearts and that
with you gone from our lives, there will always be a void that cannot
be filled. You be a good boy wherever you are, and remember that
Mommy and Daddy love you with every little piece of their heart and soul.
There will never be another you, I said it every day, what did we do to get
so lucky to have you? We may not be able to ever figure out what we did to be
so deserving of you, but we are so very glad that you chose us to love, and love us you did,
more than we ever thought possible, and much more than we ever deserved.

We love you so very much, Bubba Gump, Now and Forever.
The love in our hearts for you will continue to grow.

Mommy, Daddy, Denali and Mickey

August 5, 2008

IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY BEST FRIEND EVER
SHADOW VUKELJA

December 12, 1998 to August 2, 2008