"A Tribute for Speck" by Stephanie E. Riley

Speck is my dearly departed dog. He was put to sleep on October 21, 2004. He meant everything to me and I miss him very much. One night, I heard him whimpering and I found him lying on the side of the road, severely injured. I ran inside to tell my mom and she took him to the vets. I cried and had a difficult time getting to sleep. He was gone for awhile and, since he wasn’t getting any better, they were going to put him to sleep. After they had all of the equipment set up, Speck got up and started eating so he got to come home with us. I was so happy then. He had half of his brain removed so he always veered off to one side when he walked, but he got better. After awhile, he started to get worse and they decided to let him go. I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I let him continue to live, he’d only suffer. It was a Saturday when they brought him home so that we could bury him. After the burial though, I had to go to D&D. More than anything I wanted to lock myself in my room and say that it wasn’t real for I hadn’t seen the body, but it was. Before his accident, he loved to travel and so I gave him great wings for his picture. All I can do now, is carry out his memory…

Done completely in colored pencil