Editor, OBSERVER:

We just lost our beloved “Pepsi.” She was a Golden Retriever/Yellow Lab mix. Her owner, a friend, moved to an apartment that didn’t allow large dogs. When we heard that our friend had to get rid of Pepsi, we told him we would take her and bring her to our home in the country. She was 4 when we got her.

We had Pepsi for eight years. She was a cancer survivor. She endured a major operation to remove a cancerous tumor that gave her 2 more years of good quality life.

I ran across the following article from an unknown author. It tells how we felt about Pepsi.

“You know something strange about dog people? We willingly sign up for heartbreak and we know it from the beginning. Every time we bring a dog into our life, deep down we know how the story ends.

“Dogs live 10, maybe 12 years if we’re lucky. And somehow knowing that we still open our hearts all over again. From the outside it probably looks a little crazy. Why would anyone keep choosing something that’s almost guaranteed to hurt that much. But, dog people understand something others don’t.

“The pain at the end was never really the point. It’s just a small price we pay for a lifetime of the purest love you’ll ever receive. And if you ask most dog owners, the ones who’ve loved a good dog before, they’ll tell you the same thing. They do it again every single time because giving one good dog a life full of love is worth a broken heart.”

Pepsi’s ashes are now in a little pine box, with her picture taped on its top, just beneath the TV in our living room. That was her favorite place to be while inside.

RICHARD LANCASTER,

Westfield