I want to talk about sweet Chip, my dog and my good friend. There's a scene in the movie A Christmas Story where the dad receives a big crate with a lamp in the shape of a lady's leg as a prize. The crate with the leg lamp is marked Fragile.

Chip was my prize for three Christmases. We drove to Las Vegas just a few days before Christmas in 2014 to get him. He was about 6 1/2 years old and he limped, favoring his back left leg. That first night I made a nice quiet spot with a collapsible dog crate where he could have a space of his own in the transition from an outdoor kennel to an indoor family pet. He dragged his crate by his teeth down the hallway and into the family room where we were watching tv in order to be close to us. I brought him on my bed that first night home. He was shivery from the newness of everything. I read aloud to him from the book I was reading and that was that. The crate was put away soon after and we became inseparable buddies.

I had earlier and haltingly began a walking program. I worried about Chip's leg and whether he was up for walks. But he loved going out on the trail and his leg healed. We started running, well I ran and he glided beside me. He took to it. He kept me on track by nibbling on my hand in the morning as his way of asking to go for a run. It was a rare day someone didn't holler at me that he was beautiful.

I called Chip my trainer. And he was the best trainer. I went from inconsistently walking to running a 5k race. I always think of my race medals as his.

One of the tough things of the last year was when Chip's back legs began to fail for good and he couldn't run with me anymore. I carried him up and down the stairs so he could watch tv with us in the evenings. Sometimes he needed help going outside in the night and would want to move to the couch so I would take a blanket and stay with him. It was my privilege to care for him.

The thing about Chip was family was everything to him. He was fiercely protective and fiercely loyal. And from him we learned the life lesson to stay upbeat in the face of challenges. Because he always remained cheerful and loving, even as he struggled to walk. Or as he fell. He gave us an example of how to live and love steadfastly big and with a smile.

All of life is fragile. The dogs we love. The people we love. We will lose them on this earth. But the love is the unbreakable gift. The photograph above is the morning sky as we walked out of the vet's office after putting Chip to sleep. The sunrise showing God welcoming him to heaven.

I put Chip's dog tag in my running belt to carry with me out on the trail because he was my Christmas prize and because the memory of his nibbling on my hand makes me laugh with pure joy. Rest In Peace, my good friend Chip.