When the Vet Said, “It’s Time”

I had rehearsed the decision for months. Then the vet said the words, gently, and every rehearsal disappeared. I held him and asked her how I would know. She said, “You already know. You just needed someone to say it with you.”

The last afternoon we sat outside. He could not walk far, so we stayed in the garden. I told him all the things I had been saving: how he got me through the year I do not like to talk about, how he made the apartment feel like a home, how sorry I was that he could not stay longer.

People say animals do not understand. I am not sure understanding is the point. He rested his head on my arm the way he always did. That was enough. It is still enough.