To my dearest pet ...

Rest In Peace.
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Gigi, you've been a wonderful pet. Almost 11 years ago, my father brought you home from the streets, and you lived with us ever since. You have been in my life for more than 10 years of my short 16 years, and you're in almost every memory I have. Losing you is like losing a part of me.

I cannot believe that you're already gone. The house feels empty without you. Everyone misses you. We step into the house, and we feel it at once, that you're no longer there. I sometimes think that you're still alive. Because life still goes on without you, and everything seems normal. Until I suddenly remember that you're no longer here and I feel a pang. It keeps happening. It is, really, very, very hard to accept the fact that you're gone.

I will always miss the times we played hide-and-seek. You always lost. (Unless I gave myself up.) I will miss hearing you whine for food. I will miss you.

You were my first pet, my friend, my everything. If I was ever a bad owner,
I am sorry. Sometimes I shout at you because you misbehave, but I've never stopped loving you. I'm not crying because I promised somebody I won't. And people tell me you won't want to see me like this.

Wherever you are now, I know you're no longer suffering. And that's enough to comfort me. I'm sorry about the pain you had to experience. I wished you never had to suffer any.

My father says that we should be happy for you. If he hadn't taken you home 11 years ago, you'd have been gone much earlier. I still remember the thick, thick rope tied around your neck (that could have suffocated you), and your injured paw. When you first arrived I thought you were a baby. And we tried to give you milk. But you didn't want it.

On your first day at our house, my mother tried to feed you vegetables. That was the first time I saw you stand on your hind legs. You were so adorable. I remember I was squealing with delight, then.

In one year, you accidentally ran away from home. You were scared of rain, and you slipped out of the house. We found you on the 7th floor, one floor above us. You disliked cameras, because of the flash I forgot to turn off the first time I tried to take a picture of you. The flash reminds you of the lightning and you didn't like that either. You were a very quiet dog, and I haven't heard you bark more than 50 times in my entire life. You were a proud yet elegant old lady dog, and the dog next door loves you. But you never cared about him. And the list about you goes on. And on.

Gigi, I love everything about you.

You will always be in my heart. No other pet will replace you. I love you.

- Lixin