Marco's Voice

My sister’s dog died yesterday. It was sudden and very sad. The loss of a loved one is never easy and some may think it strange to mourn an animal, but humans are made to love. I believe God, in His wisdom, gave us animals to share our vast stores of love with. Margaret and her family certainly did that with Marco. One of the best and most interesting things that they shared with Marco was his voice. I don’t know if many dogs do this, but he talked. They heard his voice and gave us his words and his accent. It was something that became very much a part of their family life. Marco spoke, the same as any of the rest of them. He had opinions, complaints, love words and nicknames for them. He even was occasionally included on cards to others, usually with his name and a small drawing of a dog’s head with its tongue hanging out and the words “Lit, lit” next to it. I'll miss that little dog head on my cards. I’ll miss how he said, “Modwod(Margaret), Marster(Master), lit(lick),wid(really) and pint(pink).” His lexicon even contributed to my own family’s vocabulary at times, but not often, as it seemed silly to voice someone who was not there at the time. It’s hard to describe Marco’s voice if you haven’t heard it. It had a certain babyish quality without the highness usually associated with a baby voice. The low voice made sense, he was a big dog. His k’s were all t’s(see pint). The voice fit a large furry lover. I think, of all the things to miss about him, we'll miss his voice the most.