If a picture paints a thousand words...

Every now and then, we come across pictures that cause us deep thoughts. Pictures that seem to send out radio signals; it's almost like they're trying to communicate with us. We can look at it a million times and yet not tire of it. Oftentimes, they are pictures that relate to our heart. Pictures of war, of peace, sadness or joy. Pictures that bring back memories of our youth, our loved ones, our struggles.

This is one of those pictures where words cannot adequately describe its message. It is a picture that encapsulates love in its purest sense. It brings back vivid images of Harvard law student Oliver Barrett and music student Jennifer Cavilleri in the 1970 blockbuster "Love Story" and its (crazy at that time) tagline "Love means never having to say you're sorry". The dog you see in the picture is Schoep, a Shepherd mix, cradled in the arms of his best friend John in a lake in Bayfield, Wisconsin. Schoep is 19 years old and is sick with arthritis and, obviously, old age. 19 in human years is equivalent to 133 years.

As I silently watch the short clip on wusa9.com, different emotions came rushing through my mind. Sadness was my first reaction. As Schoep lie in John’s arms, I could feel both John and Schoep’s sadness. Death is something that no one escapes from; no matter if you are the most brilliant scientist on earth or the richest philanthropist. My next thought was gratefulness. Tears began to well up blurring my vision as I softly whispered, “Thank you Schoep for being a loyal friend”. If you imagine Schoep as a human like us, then you would realize how profound his loyalty is. He came into John’s life when he was just a bundle of fur adopted from a shelter. You could say that he had lived and would die one day for no one else but John. It didn’t matter to Schoep whether John was the richest man in the world or a beggar. The day John took him home; John became his best friend forever. This kind of love, dedication and unwavering loyalty, to my mind, surpasses even a mother and child or a husband and wife relationship.

As we go through life, we sometimes lose our focus and subsequently lose our way. In our relentless pursuit of wealth, we forget the importance of ethics, morals and values. The picture of Schoep and John can only be described as "inspirational".

Thank you, Schoep, for reminding me to be a good man. So long buddy.