We only went to bring one puppy home

Just his brother, that was all

But you stood there raisin’ all that tiny hell

Like you already owned us all

Gray and white with stubborn eyes

Too much spirit for your size

And somehow before that day was through

You picked us… more than we picked you

You been livin’ off your mama’s plate

Like every supper’s your birthright

Barkin’ at the thunder, bossin’ everybody ’round

Howlin’ at the moon at night

And Lord that little voice you make

When you try so hard to say

“Ralph”…

But I swear sometimes it sounds like “Momma” anyway

Oh Chappy, my little shadow

My old heartbeat with tiny paws

You followed me through every hard year

Loved me through every loss

Now the house is full of broken

And I ain’t ready for the dark

’Cause fifteen years ain’t long enough

For a dog that owns your heart

Now I count your breaths while you’re sleeping

And I pretend I don’t

See the tired behind your eyes

Or hear the places your heart won’t go

Still you wag that tail for me

Still you crawl up close somehow

Like you’re tryin’ to make this easier

For the rest of us right now

And I don’t know how to say goodbye

To the best friend I ever knew

How do you let go of somethin’

That spent a lifetime loving you?

Maybe love like this don’t leave

Maybe it just changes rooms

Maybe every quiet corner of this house

Will still be filled with you

Oh Chappy, sweet little old man

Full of sass till the very end

If love could keep a body breathing

You’d outlive all of us then

So when you finally close your tired eyes

You don’t have to be afraid

You were wanted… you were cherished

Every single day

And somewhere past this hurtin’

Past

the part where hearts get torn

I’ll hear your little howl again

Callin’ for Momma once more