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The first time I saw him was through the glass of the tank.
He had what I didn't know was a smile on his face, and was overjoyed to see my eyes open. I didn't keep them open very long.
The first time I heard his voice was when the the tank was drained.
"Hello! Your name is Sunkist!"
His voice was as sunny as his smile, and I wandered towards him.
"Sorry you're... you're not ready yet."
My whine made his face fall.
"Don't worry, Sunkist! When you're ready we'll... we can play."
The first time he pet me when I was ready. It was the first time I was out of the tank. He held me in his arms and toweled me off. His big warm hands stroked my fur, and that was the first time I felt happy, the first time I could feel my tail wag.
"You're finally finished, I'm going to... I love you so much. You're the... you're the perfect dog, Sunkist."
The first time I helped him was during a thunderstorm. It was loud, and the first one was scary. I went to hide with him, to hide under the blanket. But he was curled up, whimpering. So I checked on him. I nosed him softly, and licked his hand. He liked it when I licked his hand, but he didn't respond. So I just layed with him until the horribly loud noises stopped, until he uncurl.
"Thank... thank you, Sunkist"
I have always been invulnerable. He had made me that way. He knew I was that way. But he always protected me. Even when he didn't have to. Once he took a bullet for me, I didn't know enough then to understand. Only enough to understand that one moment he was fine and the next he wasn't. I stayed by his side as he healed, and cried over his pain. But he got better, and everthing was okay.
I have always waited for him, but once he was gone too long, and I had to find him. I was taken, he saved me, and sent me home. If it was too dangerous for me, it was too dangerous for him... but I listened. He always knew what to do, and I knew he would come home if he promised.
I have always understood things better than a normal dog. I understood when he had his children he still loved me. I understood when he lost his father that he needed me to comfort him, and why he needed my comfort. I understood when he told me I was immortal and that he was not. I understood.
The last time I saw, heard and felt him he smiled at me. It had been a long while since I heard his voice, he needed his breath for other things, his hands weren't as big and strong as they had been. But he was still the same person who had made me. He scratched the spot he knew I loved, right behind my left ear.
"Good dog, Sunkist."
I had known since he explained it that I would outlive him, but it still hurt. I had his children, who loved me almost as much as he had, but it still hurt. I had prepared for it from the moment he started growing old, but it still hurt.
It would fade, eventually, but nothing would ever replace Tommy.