Today, July 5th, 2010 my childhood dog Nick died. This has been a huge shock and the sadness is overwhelming. Nick was the only dog my family ever had and because of this the memories are countless.

• the day my mom brought him home when I was 12
• teaching him how to "speak"
• how mad my step-dad was everytime I told him to "speak"
• how he barked at the oven everytime we opened it, he always was the protector
• sneaking him out of his kennel at night so he could sleep in my bed with me
• my mom coming in in the morning to discover the two of us sleeping in way past my alarm for school
• watching him and my rabbit hang out together under my moms desk, ultimately becoming best friends
• bringing Nick to school for late night theater class rehearsals (how no one disapproved is a sure sign of nick's character)
• coming home from college for weekends and being greeted by his immense excitement
• the noise he made when you rolled him onto his belly so you could give him rubs
• how soft the fur right between his eyes and on his forehead was and how he closed his eyes anytime you rubbed it with your thumbs (or when i stole a kiss)
• people always thought he was a mix because of his size, which was pretty funny. a pure bread corgi with a torso the size of a german shepherd and the standard non-existent legs.
• long walks in Tahoe up and down the neighborhood
• sitting on the floor with him and him crawling up into my lap and licking my hand/arm until it was possibly raw.
• his perked up reaction to the question "should we double you the dee Nick?"

the list goes on and on, and hopefully i'll continue to add to it here.

most of all I will miss the undeniable loyalty he showed towards our family. he knew we loved him and we knew he loved us. RIP Nicky