my entry into the constrained writing competition

This is my first entry into @svashta's constrained writing competition. I love writing, but I don't really do that much of it anymore. Let me know what you think! Rules at the bottom if you're interested.

Goodbye

“I’ll miss you,” you said.
“I’ll miss you too,” I replied as I looked into your deep brown eyes.

It hadn’t meant to end this way, so soon, so suddenly. We had only been friends for three years. But they had been three incredible years.

I remember when I met you. You were so full of life. That’s what had attracted me to you. I think I had been hoping that some of your youthful enthusiasm would rub off on me, encourage me to get out more, instead of sitting at home every weekend, immersing myself in case-study after case-study. You were refreshing. Joyful. Always able to see the wonder in things. A wonder I had failed to see, until I met you.

You twitched.

“Don’t leave me,” you said.
“I won’t,” I replied as I pulled you closer to let you know I was there. And I wasn’t going anywhere. “I promise.”

The time we had spent together made me truly thankful. It’s not often that a bond becomes so strong in such a short space of time, but we were inseparable. We would go everywhere together. And we would be inseparable until the very end.

“I’m cold,” you said.
I pulled the blanket up around your neck and tucked you in tighter. “Better?” I asked.
“Much,” you said, and laid your head back down on the pillow.

I stroked your hair. A warm golden blonde. I kissed your forehead. Shhhh, I whispered. “It’s okay.”

The door to the treatment room swung open.

“It’s time,” Dr. Watson said. “She’s going to leave us now, it won’t be much longer.”
“Okay,” I replied. “I’ll say my goodbyes.”

I looked down at you on the table, so calm, so peaceful.

“Goodbye,” I whispered in your floppy ear.
“Thank you,” you said as you struggled to lift your heavy head and meet my gaze.
“Don’t,” I said as I gently pressed your head back down. “Just rest.”

You licked my hand and I rubbed your nose, just like I had when I first brought you home. And then you were gone.

“I’m so sorry,” Dr. Watson said as she squeezed my arm.
“Thank you,” I replied. “She was a good dog. The best dog. My best friend.”

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RULES:

• Write a story with at least 1 speaking animal
• The story must not be set in a zoo, pet store or an aquarium
• Each animal’s vocabulary consists of only 20 unique words. They cannot learn words anew, but they can use words with different meanings to count as 1 word (example: squash, can be used as “a squash” – a vegetable, or “to squash” – a verb meaning to crush) and they can form plurals and past tenses of words. They can, for example say “use, using, used” and it only counts as 1 unique word
• The story must be at least 250 words long

I twisted the rules a little bit as I guess the dog isn't really talking. But some pet owners really do believe they can communicate with their animals, which I think is pretty magical!