Our family adopted our sweet dog, Maeko, from A Forever Home 8 years ago. He was 8 years old at the time, and had had a difficult life. He was very shy at first, not even lifting his tail to wag for the first two weeks. His gait was stooped, and he would walk as if he didn’t want anyone to see him. I knew he knew how to play, because he came with a soft, stuffed toy. Around the third week, I tried throwing the toy to see if he would get it. He suddenly jumped up, ran to get it, tossed it in the air with his teeth, whirled around, ran back to his bed, and gave a happy bark! He looked as startled as I did after he did that, and didn’t seem to know where the bark came from! I was curious to find out “who else was in there.” He continued to progress, beginning to lift up his tail and wag it as he walked. Over the following years, Maeko grew more and more social, would approach strangers to sniff them when they came in the door, would let my music students who came to my house pet him, and he loved to be carried around and pampered. He kept some of his independent streak, but overall, became a “lap-pooch.” He had such a sweet disposition. At the beginning of March 2022, he became very sick. This was not the first time as he was beginning to age. He passed away at the age of 16. Our family was blessed by his presence and saw him as a gift from God to be enjoyed for a season. We are thankful that we were given the opportunity to have this sweet pup as part of our family.