Story of the Handsome "Prints"

Being a veterinarian that helps people say good-bye to their beloved pets in the home, I travel a lot and come across many touching tributes and experiences. Because I am very focused at helping my patients and families, I know I miss a lot of them too. Recently, I was fortunate to stumble across what you see in this picture. I had to step out of an appointment to get an item from my car and when I came back, after already traversing the walkway to the home twice without seeing them, I noticed dog paw prints that had been stamped into the concrete walkway toward the home. They were perfectly imperfect; not symmetrical and unevenly spaced, they veered off to the left and off the path once entering the gate. They were perfect in the fact that they were so real, so intentional and the depression in the concrete had perfect depth so it made them stand out. I couldn't believe I had missed them.

Now, the home itself was absolutely stunning, spacious and had beautiful landscaping. I wondered whether these prints were from a previous dog that they had lost and this was a tribute to that pet, or maybe they had been present from a previous owner of the home.

After entering the home and finishing the appointment, the client and I walked outside together to take her pet to the car so I could transport him for cremation. I mentioned how appropriate and how adorable the paw prints in her concrete walkway were. Well...there was a story behind the handsome prints.

The home was custom-built by her and her husband. The construction crew was nearly done with the home and had laid a beautiful concrete pathway to the front door. They left for the day to let it dry. The next day, both the construction workers and the owner arrived to find these paw prints in the concrete. The crew was apologetic and said they would re-do the walkway as these prints were very prominent and obvious. They had a good idea of who this dog was as they had been feeding it from their lunches in the previous days. This beautiful pup would arrive at lunchtime to take any leftovers they had. It appeared he had returned for dinner too! But rather than having them lay new concrete, she told them to "just leave it." She loved the walkway, she loved the story, she loved that these people were kind to this animal who was looking for food, love and interaction. She had never met or even seen this dog, but those prints represented so much more, it was the story of love and the human-animal bond.

The house was actually on the market to sell. I sure hope the new owners see the love in those prints and leave them there to be admired. "Experiences, not things." These prints opened up a conversation, it connected us with the love we have for our pets, and it filled us both with a sense of joy in knowing that this perfect imperfection would be the source of many more stories to come. It surpassed the perfection of a flawless concrete walkway and it has the potential to carry on with a story that lives happily ever after. I also have a new mantra "just leave it!"