just caught this thread, but i knew this week would be a tough one for you.
everything you express about Grunt is always so eloquent and heartfelt, your love for him is so evident, and so touching.
while i am sure that you are feeling a profound sense of loss and grief, when i read your posts, something else occurs to me - there is a part of my heart that fills with joy.
having the gift of sharing our lives with these wonderful dogs, we've been privvy to a kind of love that some never get to experience. we get to know what unconditional love truly means, to give and to receive it. we are allowed to encounter their deep sensitivity and loyalty, their unabashed joy for life, their mysterious little quirks, and their capacity to live in the moment with no other agenda other than to love and be loved back. i often marvel at how lucky we are to be a participant in their lives, we couldn't ask for better companions in our journey.
and so, the joy i feel is in knowing that your beloved Grunt had you by his side throughout his entire journey. your words paint a picture of a companion who was deeply loved, always doted upon, and rarely anywhere that wasn't close to you. the joy comes from appreciating what a wonderful life you and Grunt shared, how much you still affect one another even though the physical ties have been severed. that kind of devotion is earned through years of love and care, hours and hours of togetherness and comfort in one another's company. not everyone is allowed to experience that kind of true love, and i am so thankful that you and your Grunt did just that in your time together. that is where the joy is to be found.
while your joy will always be tempered with sorrow since he is gone, i know that you wouldn't trade the grief for one second of the life you shared together. their walk with us is always too short, but the beautiful memories abide, and the knowlege that the beloved ones are waiting patiently to rejoin us help soothe a broken heart.
i'll be thinking of you and your beautiful boy and wishing peace and comfort for you as always.