Once-In-A-Lifetime Dog

You came home in a cardboard box

Tennis ball bigger than your head

Chewed the laces off my boots

Then fell asleep on my chest instead

You’re my once-in-a-lifetime dog

Every scratch

Every scar

Every muddy paw

From the backseat rides to the midnight walks

I got one shot at this kind of love

My once-in-a-lifetime dog

You learned “stay” but you’d still sneak close

Guarded me when the nights felt long

You’d tilt your head at my bad jokes

Like you knew the punchline all along

One day there’ll be a last slow walk

Last bowl filled

Last door unlocked

But you carved your name so deep in my days

Every hair on the couch says you stayed