I Promise You’ll Never Regret Loving
Love can hurt. Sometimes it leaves wounds that time can’t erase, but it also leaves a light that no darkness can ever extinguish. True love doesn’t always come in the form of a person. Sometimes it comes with four little paws, a sincere gaze, and a tail that wags for no reason at all. This is the story of someone who taught me not to let a bad moment be the last… and to remember that love, no matter what, always stays. This is the story of Tomi, my light, my teacher, my guide, and everything he taught me about loving without measure, even when he’s no longer here.
There once was a little dog named Tomi who wagged his tail for everything and everyone. He didn’t need much of a reason, life itself seemed to be enough. Every morning, he’d open his eyes and start his day with the same excitement: greeting whoever crossed his path, eating his food like it was a feast, walking, running, existing. Always wagging his tail, always thrilled just to be.
You’d never guess, seeing him like that, everything he’d been through. Once, he was rescued from the hands of children who hit him, kicked him, and planned to throw him away. Later, he ended up in a house that was more a place than a home, left outside through rain or sun, with affection arriving in small doses, almost as if love were something he had to earn.
And yet, even then, he kept wagging that little tail. Looking at the world with eyes that still believed in kindness. Eyes that forgave everything.
He was run over, attacked by bigger dogs, and still, he never stopped being love in motion.
With time, Tomi got older. His steps grew slower, his sight faded, and his hearing turned into memory. He started making funny sounds, like a tiny piglet (in Spanish, chancho means pig, and Chanchi became my affectionate nickname for him). He answered to both names, the old one and the new, as if to remind me that no matter how much time passed, he was still the same soul inside. The same joy. The same love.
His favorite place in the world became the bed we shared, where he’d curl up next to me, finally living the life he had always deserved.
Tomi was my greatest teacher. He taught me that no darkness can erase who we truly are. That we can go through storms, heartbreak, and neglect, and still wake up wagging our tail. Still find joy in the simplest things. Still choose love, over and over again.
That’s what he taught me, that life is really about, not what happens to us, but how softly we keep loving after it does...
And then, one day, he was gone.
My precious baby, my companion through every chapter of my life, finished his mission here on earth, suddenly, leaving behind an ache I still feel, but also a deep gratitude for his existence. For having shared even a small piece of this life with me.
Every time I think of him, I also think of all the things I wish I could change, how I should have treated him better, how I regret the times I got mad. His last day with me wasn’t a peaceful one; I was upset, he’d made a mess, and I said things I wish I could take back. I opened the door for him to go outside, like I always did, not knowing that it would be the last time I’d see those bright eyes. The last time he’d wag his tail, still full of life.
I know his spirit is still here, I feel it every time I light the candle on his little altar. But even then, I can’t help but think of everything I won’t get back.
So please, whatever you do today, always remember tenderness.
Don’t let a bad moment be the last one.
Don’t let any relationship end with harsh words or silence. You never know when it’s the last time.
Don’t let anyone walk away and leave you with the weight of what could’ve been.
Time doesn’t rewind.
Only love stays.
No matter what happens, it has to be bigger than the anger, the pride, the impatience.
In the end, that’s all that remains.
And when you remember, you’ll decide how: with regret, or with nostalgia and sweetness.
Choose love. Always.
-xoxo🌸✨️
"My loyal companion our souls are not apart.
You will always be one with me. Wherever I go, you’ll be there. Wherever you are, I am."
I love you 💌
