Nelson

They are living, breathing creatures, and when any other being is contacted, it is sad: because you see the limitations, the pain and fear and the final death. That is what contact means. -William S. Burroughs

It has not been a good year for the dogs I love. First, there was the unexpected passing of Plum in April, and now there's Nelson. Nelson was the canine love of my dear friend Jane in Kansas City. Plum and Nelson were probably the closest Jane and I will come to having children who become childhood sweethearts, fall in love with each other and then wander off into the sunset to urinate on trees together.

Plum and Nelson met after I'd had Plum for a couple of months. Nelson arrived at our apartment building (dubbed Fort Awesome) and the two of them were cautiously introduced. Jane and I looked on in shock as the much larger Plum immediately tried to hump the blond ball of puppy fluff that was Nelson. Soon enough, Nelson paid Plum back on that count. Nelson grew fast, and in an incident that still confounds me, Nelson managed to pee on Plum's head...and Plum just stood there and took it. Perhaps this was an insight into Plum's kinkier nature that I never fully explored, but Nelson's love for Plum was such that he was unafraid to 'go there'. Love means taking risks. And Nelson was indeed that, a risk-taker.

I recall with great fondness and affection Jane's blond companion. Plum and Nelson were witnesses to aspects of our lives when we were otherwise alone. Yes, the contact means pain, but there is also the memory of such great joy.