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Although I didn't know that at the time, this was the last picture I ever took of him.

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It is a mysteriously beautiful backlit image, timeless, because it is hard to say whether

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it is dawn or dusk, and somehow ominous.

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You can see him coming towards me across the misty river over the bridge, and for that

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reason it will always stand as a metaphorical reminiscence of him and his name, Dusky.

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I never wanted to have a dog. It's not that I dislike animals, but I've never enjoyed the idea

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of having command over anyone or being the one someone should depend on. Besides, I guess I had

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become increasingly apprehensive about death, as I had been the sole witness of my father's passing

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away some years ago, and I knew it was only natural that I should face a similar ordeal if I ever had

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the dog. And I did. As I say it now, the leash cuts both ways, because you never know who's

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leading who. As a matter of fact, I tied my loyal companion and me into an unbreakable

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bond I could never tear apart. At least he died peacefully, and no final words had to

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be said. I would have stuck to my previous decision, even though my wife had been nudging

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me into it for a few years, if he hadn't chosen me the way he did. He was my wife's cousin's pet

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and I couldn't help taking him out for a walk whenever they'd come to visit.

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I could sense he was being neglected because of the birth of their first child

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and I felt an immense tenderness and sympathy for him.

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Over time, I would realize nobody could help feeling the same for him.

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His situation only got worse over the next few years

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when the couple eventually broke up and got divorced.

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It was only a matter of time before my wife's cousin asked us

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if we would be willing to adopt him.

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Reluctantly, I agreed.

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Was it a wise decision? It was just inevitable, in the same way as you stop acting wisely when

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love comes your way. I never thought I could love an animal, but sure as hell I did. He changed my

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life completely and made me a better person. A healthier person indeed. Now, as I look at

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these pictures, I wonder if it wasn't me who was left behind on that riverbank, and only there do

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I exist, in his memory. I sometimes wish it would be that way. Goodbye, Dusky, my friend.