Excerpt
EXCERPT (from Gabriel):

"Ya know, John, I've been thinking. Maybe you should get a dog."

Christ. A dog. Just what I need. Another perfect soul that I can get attached to, love more than life itself, then have it die on me, too.

"No, thanks, Bud. I'm doing okay. Just going to take some time."

Unfortunately, I have to pay for my meager nutrients so I find myself face-to-face with him while he rings up my bill.

"Really, John. Just listen for a minute. Please." Bud's entire demeanor changes in a heartbeat as he relates the story of a dog that saved his family from perishing in a house-fire. A dog, who shortly thereafter, was relinquished to the local shelter because his owners were getting divorced. A dog whose repayment for giving life was most likely going to be death as he was already nine-years-old.

So, as Bud recounted this sad tale, I did. Listen that is. Because something in the telling struck a familiar chord. Tugging at me, I think it was the fact that the dog and I were a lot alike. Through no fault of my own, I had lost the light of my life. Ditto for the dog. Then came the clincher...