I thought we wouldn’t get the timing
right     when
she stopped eating      

I tried chicken
bison        dried lamb lung
one day I had nothing
she wanted
she turned away
disappointed

then she stopped drinking
on her last walk
she dragged us through the meadow
to the dog pond   and stared at the water
watched the dogs run      

it was this fidelity
to  her life
that showed us how much
she valued it    but you can’t live
without water    

we walked back home 
put her bed in the living
room     and sat with her until
the vet came   

because most animals choose
to die alone
I held my hands
in my lap    and watched her head
fall on its own

– Bonnie Billet