The next dog

When the next dog bumbles through the door
runs through the living room
and does laps around the dining table...
how long till the investigation will start?

Here’s the pet bed
the space next to the cabinet where
a single step makes for easy laying of a head
the grassy spot in the yard
the perfect recipe of sun

Everywhere smells
of a missing family member
a hole in the fragrance of the house
a hole in the universe,
Labrador shaped.