In Memory of Piper

10-01-2011 to 10-05-2026

Piper was a once in a lifetime kind of dog. The kind you don’t realize will become woven into nearly every version of you until one day, you have to figure out how to exist without them…

She was a friend to everyone she met, but to me, she was so much more. She was my constant. She stood beside me through some of the hardest chapters of my life like heartbreak, change, and the moments I wasn’t sure how I was going to keep moving forward. She never needed an explanation. She just stayed.

And I truly believe she waited until she knew I was going to be okay. Like somehow, after carrying me through all those years, she finally looked at the life around me and knew her job was done. I just wish I could have told her I’d never be ready for it to be.

One of the things that hurts the most is knowing Junie won’t get to grow up making memories with her. I had always pictured Piper being there for so much of her early childhood… But one day, I’ll get to tell Junie all about Piper- the dog who carried me through the life I had before her and helped me make it to the life where I became her mom. And I’ll get to tell her exactly where her middle name came from: the best girl there ever was.

Piper left this world exactly where she belonged: at home, on the couch, in my lap, surrounded by the people who loved her. I got to hold her as she took her last breath, after she had spent her lifetime holding me together.

There are dogs, and then there dogs like Piper. The ones who change you forever. The ones you’ll spend the rest of your life missing.

Damn, it’s hard waking up to a world without her in it.

So cheers to Piper… to the best girl, my once in a lifetime dog and one of the greatest loves of my life. Thank you for finding me in this lifetime.

I hope somehow, somewhere, you find me in the next one too. ❤️‍🩹🍻🌈