Justin B. 4M

The Canine Atlas

Sidney takes up a big space in my heart and I can’t imagine my life without him. My heart would be like an empty box of chocolates. It’s as if a silversmith wielded an indestructible steel cord bonding us together forever.   

Sidney loves many things, but he has his favorites. One thing he especially loves is bones with peanut butter inside. He gnaws endlessly trying to get to the peanut butter in the bone. It must be heaven to him. Another thing he adores is curling up in the cherry red armchair in the same room as his cage, or dozing on the dotted green couch by his water bowl and food bowl, sometimes with a slobber covered ball in his mouth. He isn’t lazy though. He cherishes chasing a tennis ball out side on one of those warm 80 degree days, gleefully dashing across the sun streaked lawn. Sid can be a very naughty and mischievous dog. He enjoys the food he slyly steals from the table when nobody is looking. But there is one lone thing that I am certain he loves 100% and it loves him back. That would be me!

Sidney is always there for me. When I’m feeling down, he comforts me and licks me. In fact, he licks me no matter how I am feeling! When I throw the ball for Sidney in my front yard I feel wonderful. I feel as if the only living beings in the world are me and Sidney. Sometimes I talk to Sidney just as if I were speaking to any human being. I almost believe he understands me! It is as if I speak bilingually-like I am speaking English and dog language at the same time! Sometimes I consider that I understand him too! When I believe we can understand each other I think our steel cord is getting bulkier by the second. This makes me feel that Sidney loves me just as much as I love him. When I connect with him, I am assured of our close relationship. Sidney is one of the few animals in the world that brings a huge amount of jubilance to me, and I love him for that.

I have many memories of Sidney. I remember when my mom went to the breeder to get a fond, furry, cuddly puppy for our family. That’s exactly what our family got. When I came home from an errand, I met Sidney. He followed me around everywhere I went! I remember I was showing him around the house and he went in all of the rooms. He kept on licking me and he acted very affectionate towards me. He still licks me thoroughly and is always affectionate but it’s just not the same. I also remember a time when Sid wasn’t as tough as he usually is. There was a gargantuan turtle in our yard and my dad decided to let Sidney out to scare it away (my mom thought it might have been a snapping turtle). Sidney was about as futile as a pile of rat’s dung. He plainly just lay down and rested on the grass. Another memory I have is the time when he cuddled up with my cat, James, and he slept with him. He was literally almost spooning with my cat! A really funny memory I have of my fantastic dog is when I was playing fetch with him and I bent over to get his ball. He streaked under my legs, I was swept off the ground and I was on his back for a split second. It wasn’t for long! The speed at which Sidney was going caused me to slide straight off his back and I dropped to the ground in the blink of an eye! That was really amusing! I love these memories I have of Sidney and though they may fade over time, new memories will compensate for those forgotten.

Sidney is like a canine version of Atlas the Greek god, but instead of holding up the sky, he holds up my heart forever no matter what the situation. And you might want to reverse the letters in god.