When A Family Loses a Dog: Honoring a Beautiful Life

#Dogs bring us #love, companionship, and build unbreakable bonds of symbiotic emotional nurturing and caring that come without human judgment. King Arthur, our family dog watching over my daughter when she was just a wee one in 2008.

I've been dreading writing this story - probably since the day I fell in love with my (heart, sinking, now, ugh) late, family dog, King Arthur. But I do it now, because it's time I finally honor his admirable, amazing and beautiful life: King Arthur Cho - 2001-2013.

Our dog came to us in an untraditional way. I was working at InStyle magazine and didn't have any thoughts of adopting a canine at the time back in 2005. But one evening I came home from work and there was this giant rottie shepherd mutt, trotting around with this goofy look on this face knocking over all my things because he was just, well, extremely large. Oh, and he smelled really bad. My then husband had taken the pup in for some neighborly dogsitting and depsite the fact that I was mildy annoyed at not being previously informed of the visit, I, a huge dog lover, quickly bathed the big guy and well, within minutes, let's just say, fell in love.

Meant to Be - haha!: Me and King Arthur Cho in one of our Holiday Cards, 2005

The story goes that said owner of King Arthur the dog, after three weeks away, never really came back, and thank goodness because I developed a deep bond with the dog. It was as they say, meant to be. "KA" as he began to be known was famously my first baby, and incredibly spoiled by me: I created quite um "fancy" holiday cards with just the two of us, sending them to fellow editors and colleagues (I kind of cringe, at this today, lol). KA had Halloween costumes, and new toys everyday, and ahem, KA wore a black bowtie when I got married. Furthermore, the King certainly had only the most sophisticated of bath and body treatments. I know, ridiculous.

But perhaps what I will remember King Arthur the most for is how he nursed me. I was born with a progressive medical condition that has caused me severe pain throughout my life. There was once a period where I was bedridden for a week and he never left my side - not even to drink water. I will never forget that. It was incredible as I was never allowed to feel alone by my dog, as he patiently waited for me to get better.

And so when I miss my crazy, goofy dog, who had such a love and loyalty, as all family dogs do, I think of how he was there for me in the toughest of times. And this is my story of course, but every family member who King Arthur spent time with, has a unique story of their own, of how he touched their lives. Because that's what family dogs do. They bring us love, companionship, and build unbreakable bonds of symbiotic emotional nurturing and caring that come without human judgment. Now the beauty in that is boundless.

Disclaimer: Nuy Cho has no affiliation to any of the beauty companies mentioned on www.nuybeauty.com.