Kaleo

Since I've mentioned Kaleo several times lately, I thought I'd post a photo of him - let y'all know what he looked like. See? Tough act to follow, eh? But I guess this is the point I want to make. Up till now, I felt like I've been living in his shadow. And Pops is always thinking about him, even though - bless is heart - he knows he should see me for who I am and love me for me. But he can't help himself... and then he feels guilty about it.

Well, recently... somehow... we both came to the same realization - that when I was feeling like I'm living in Kaleo's shadow and when Pops thought he was clinging to the past, we were actually just feeling the presence of Kaleo. I mean, he really is here among us. Every time Pops thinks about him it's because Kaleo's spirit bumped into him or somethin'. I know I feel him around all the time. And I know Trina does too. Pops said the day he completed and installed Kaleo's memorial in the garden, Trina went right up to it, sniffed it and laid down in front of it all morning. She and Kaleo were real tight. They were the same age, so she played with him a lot more than she does with me. But she teaches me a lot of cool stuff. I love Trina Jieh-jieh.

Yeah, funny how things come around eventually. I'm glad my patience with Pops paid off. He's a good man and always comes around to the right thing... well, almost always. Sometimes it takes a few years. And now that he and I have both acknowledged and embraced Kaleo as a spirit living among us, we open our hearts to each other more easily. Sure, he still makes comparisons between me and Kaleo every now and then, but it's not a bad thing. It's more like growing the love. Sharing the memories. After all, don't we always see ourselves as reflections in each other's faces? How else are we gonna see ourselves?

Anyway, check out the photos. Whenever Pops and I go out, people we meet always look at me and say, "What a gorgeous dog! Look at those eyes!" Guess Kaleo used to get the same thing. Either way, Pops gets a big swell in his heart when that happens.