June 18, 2022 - News Post

This week's comic is dedicated to the memory of Grendel, my bug-eyed monster of a dog.

She loved tacos.

Whenever I ate tacos, I would glance at her from across the room. As I blinked, I swore I could see a brown blur from the dog's direction. When I looked back at my plate, one taco would be gone. Grendel, a little fatter, would simply look at me with innocent eyes.

…

She stole my dinner, stole her sister's dinner. Stole the neighbors' breakfast.

She ate garbage, went through cabinets, dug through compost piles, and ate food out of my parent's suitcase.

She'd steal the spot in front of my desk where I wanted to stand. She claimed the couch as her own.

She'd snore during important calls, and demand immediate attention during others.

She'd only poop in front of an audience. She'd eat every bit of stray cat poop she found.

She escaped from nearly every place we ever brought her, yet always came back.

She barked at Christmas decorations, barked at neighbors, barked aggressively at police.

She hated toys, but took the time to steal toys from other dogs.

Several times a day, she would turn sideways in front of my feet and stop. She once pulled me so hard on a run that I fell and broke my wrist.

I will never stop missing her.

…

I had a lot of great years with her. Amazing memories. Hikes, camping trips, and endless adventures. She was the toughest, bravest, craziest, weirdest, happiest, most lovable creature to ever come into my life… always on her own terms.

I don't have a punchline here. I'm seriously bummed right now.

If you have a plate of tacos, and one mysteriously vanishes, it could be Grendel haunting you.

If so, you're extremely lucky. She's great company.

-Jeff