It’s a sad time. My little buddy JP has gone to await me in Valhalla. He was 17-1/2 years old, and he was a part of our family since we brought him home on February 7, 2011. He used to sit under my shirt as I sat at my computer writing or playing video games. JP was as gentle as they come, not a mean bone in his body. He preferred to stay indoors in the company of his humans, but in his younger years he would dash in big circles around the yard and go with on long walks along the lake. JP was weird and sweet and affectionate. He loved his meatball treats and his Nilla Wafers. We had quite a bit in common, he and I. Especially the handsomeness. I’ll miss his bright eyes and his kisses and his calming influence.

I wrote a story a few years back called “JP,” all about the lengths I’d go to for him. People tell me it’s scary. That originally appeared in an obsession-themed anthology called Little Visible Delight. Later, the story was published again in my collection Doomsday Furnace. The berserker houndsmen in Chuggie and the Bleeding Gateways have a dog named Jehpi – and another named Mo, after another canine buddy who’s waiting in Valhalla. JP and Mo were good dogs. They live on in legend, and they’ll both be honored in my stories.

JP is still inspiring me, still shining a light, and still helping me. So join me in raising a toast to JP. A good ol’ buddy who had a long life full of love, who I’ll miss until we’re together again.