This was written by my 13 years old granddaughter for a project - My son forwarded it to me and I would like to share it with you ...Sure moved me to tears ....

My Other Half
By Alyssa Lancey

While growing up if you had a dog you’ll know what I mean when I say they were your best friend. They scared away the monsters that lived under your bed. And never left your side. When I was a year old my family moved from Montreal to a small town called Newcastle. There we adopted a mutt from a pound. That we soon named Baron. After a short day he became my best friend. We were never one without the other. And to this day I can still say I miss him. He would sit in front of our house standing guard. I remember being in the back seat of my friends car. Looking out the window to the somehow familiar scenery. Then passing by my dad’s house I saw Baron staring back at me, watching the cars go by. I opened my window and called out his name. He looked at me immediately knowing who it was. It was his best friend who ran around the back yard with him, throwing sticks for him to chase and obediently dropping them at her feet. He ran alongside the car until nearing the end of the street. Giving a bark of good bye he turned around and made his way home. These are the memories that bring tears to my eyes when I think of him. When I look at his place in the front yard where tulips now grow, I can almost see those playful happy eyes looking back at me. But things like that can’t last forever. Baron went missing in November 2009. I cried myself to sleep every night for countless days. Feeling the absence of my other half. Even though we had baron for nine years those years felt short. But truth be told everything has to come to an end whether we like it or not. My brother was seven when Baron went missing but he still remembers how close Baron and I were. And now he realizes how special Baron really was. And how lucky we were to be able to call him ours. To this day I miss the soft but sturdy sound of his paws walking down the hall that I awoke to so many mornings. His disappearance was surely a turning point in my life because now I look at things differently. Now that I’ve witnessed a soft spoken friendship that couldn’t speak back.