Every person in life needs to have someone they can talk to and know that they will be trusted. I am 18 years old and my in my life I have had that one person. Licorice. She was my best friend. She was a blck lab mix and was such a sweetie. We named her Licorice or Licky because she was black and would always give us kisses all over the place. My sister Eryn, was at a birthday party when we first met Licorice. Her friends dog had just had puppies and Licorice was one of them. My sister being an animal lover begged my mom and dad to get this black puppy that fell asleep in her arms at the party. So my parents gave in. From that day on we had a new member in our family. I was in kindergarten when we got her and I didnt know alot about pets and taking care of them. As time went by Licorice became my new best friend. During rough times she was there for me and would always sit by myside. She let me cry on her and to talk to her about my problems. I used to fall asleep on her and she didnt care. As time went by and Licorice grew older she became more and more part of the family. When we would be out in the yard she used to sit under her favorite tree in the shade. She used to jump on the trampoline with us or lay and watch us jump. She used to let us dress her up and she even got married. She was a great dog. All the neighbors dogs loved Licky. When I was a senior in high school Licorice became very sick. We knew the time had come to let our best friend go. Knowing that Licky was sick and that it was only a matter of time before she was gone I used to hug her and cry for hours at a time. During her last week she could sleep during the night. She would sit up in my room all night not being able to catch her breath. On the day that we were planning on putting her to sleep I came home from school early to spend as much time as I could with her. It was raining and she wouldnt come on from the garage. I had to carry her in because she couldnt walk in the house. I told her that I loved her and that no matter what I would never forget her. I told her that she was going to a place where she would be happy and healthy again. I told her that someday she would be with us again and to never forget her family. As the day went by I began to realize the fact that she wasnt going to be around anymore. She wasnt going to be sitting under that tree on the hot summer days. She wasnt going to be waiting at the door for me when I got off the bus. I wasnt going to have a best friend anymore. Before we left to put Licorice to sleep my sisters, mom and myself all spent our last moments with her. I placed a picture of her family in her collar so she knew we would all be there for her when she was gone. I was in the room with her. My mom was holding her head and telling her to be strong. We all kissed her head and said our goodbyes. After the vet put her to sleep I knew she would be in a better place and be healthy. She would be running around playing and watching over us. After she was put down my mom tried to close her eyes and we all kissed her once again. As the vet carried her lifeless body out of the room I watched and that was the last time I saw Licorice. I was glad that I was in the room with her when she passed. She knew that her family was there for her and that we all loved her. About 3 weeks after Licorice died we got a new puppy. Her name is Haylee. She is a Husky Shepard mix and is all black just like Licky. I like to believe that Licorice would have wanted us to get another dog and that there is some part of Licorice in Haylee. I still miss Licorice very much and I always will. She was there for me during many toug times. She let me talk to her and she wouldnt interupt. She let me hug her and cry on her and she never got up and walked away. I hope I have many memories with Haylee as I do with Licorice. And I hope Licky knows that we still love her and we miss her. Licorice Christine Sharp June 1989-September 2001