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It was 1994. My wife and I had moved to Vincennes, Indiana, due to a job promotion I had received. One rainy, muddy day my wife exited the library and there was a dog jumping up on people. The dog wasn't small, he was part lab and part something else. My wife doing what my wife does, loaded the dog into our van and brought him home.

I came home from work to find my wife playing fetch in the yard with her new friend. One of the most amazing things about this dog was that he was house broken. We put up signs around town (Vincennes wasn't very big) and we even asked people we know. Nobody claimed him. I started calling him Komet because I thought I had heard my wife calling him that... the name stuck.

We took him to the veterinarian and he got a full check up. The vet told us that Komet was around a year old and in good health. Not being claimed by anyone, Komet became part of the family. Over the years, Komet has been here for the birth of my two children. He's been a good watchdog and a good friend. A few years ago, he had problems with his ears and is now mostly deaf, although I swear he is faking and has simply picked up my habit of selective hearing, as he always knows when I drop food in his bowl. And, he always seems to hear the freezer door open as he comes and sits near the refridgerator, hoping that we have served up the last of the ice cream so that he can lick out the container.

Nearly three years ago, my kids gave me a black lab for Father's Day. The litter being born on Easter, my son named her Bunny. I'm always explaining to people that no, she wasn't named after a stripper or a hairdresser. Komet has taken Bunny under his wing and has showed her the ropes. Bunny never really used to bark. Komet always took care of that. I've notice that over the past few weeks, Bunny has taken the lead at barking at people and has even barked to be let out to use the bathroom. Komet used to bark for her. He'd start barking and I'd notice Bunny standing by the door. I'd let her out and he'd go off and lay down. He was just telling us that she wanted to go out.

Over the past few days, Komet has been moving slower than usual and has had some unusual twitches as he lays in his spot by the couch. I fear that his age has finally caught up with him and that we are now moving into another phase of our lives... a life without Komet. He is around 14 years old, which is 98 in dog years. I know that we will all take it very hard when he passes. But, I know that Komet will have left us in good hands with Bunny as she steps into the main role of family's best friend.

Learn more about this author, Adam Woodworth.
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