When I was three I got a dog. He was a mix breed of a Labrador retriever and a wired hair terrier. He was your average mutt from the local pound only a few months old and probably had a dozen siblings. I remember the first day we got him I came running down our street screaming and yelling with excitement. I knew I was about to meet my best friend.

But when I saw him I was scared. This puppy that I knew wouldn’t hurt me for some reason scared me so much I had to hide behind my father. I was timid and reluctant to touch him and it was weeks maybe months before I could bring myself to embrace him. But this dog soon became the center of my life.

We named him Fraggle because of his resemblance to the dog Sprocket from the show Fraggle Rock.

Fraggle and I played, ate, slept, and grew up together. We were the best of friends and always had time for each other.

For the first few years we lived in Charlottetown. PEI’s capital. We lived in a suburb home with a nice sized back yard. My friend Steve from down the street would often come down to play in the woods with us. Fraggle and I pretty much were as close as a human and an animal could get.

Every winter my dad would build a snow fort in the backyard. Fraggle and I would often spend hours in that igloo playing and talking. He was the best listener I’ve ever met.

At my ripe old age of seven my parents decide to buy a tourist resort, and move us 40 km out into the country. At the time I hated the Idea, but now when I look back it was the best thing for Fraggle and me.

The endless forests and fields were a haven for a boy and his dog. Whether we were hunting on a safari or exploring the Amazon we always watched each other’s backs for a dangerous python or a rhino. These were good times for us. The creativity of youth and the bond of friendship were all we needed to keep ourselves amused for hours on end.

As we got older we spent less and less time with each other. School, sports and girls were etching they’re way up to the top of my agenda and I was finding less and less time for my best friend. But when I did get a chance to spend time with Fraggle he was always ready to go in a matter of seconds. With a quick bark and a wag of his tail we were out the door on another patented Dan and Fraggle adventure.

I miss those days.

These times of bonding were becoming few and far between. High school, a girlfriend, and then University eventually took over my schedule. But my best friend sat there and patiently waited there for me to open the door and give the word that would lead us on another amazing adventure. It never came.

I went about my busy life. I was running a young web company. I was going to university. I didn’t have any time for my best friend.

But he still sat there and waited for the day when I would open the door and start the adventure once again.

I waited too long.

Fraggle developed lung cancer at the ripe old age of 16. The last adventure we had together was a walk down my parents’ lane. I had to carry him back.

You could see in his eyes that he wanted to start another adventure. He wanted to run through those fields, and play in those forests. But he couldn’t breathe and his time was near.

I placed him in the back of my parents’ minivan, gave my best friend a hug and closed the door on my coughing and wheezing dog. My father then took him to the vet to be put down.

The moral of this personal story is to seize opportunities as they are presented to you. Don’t think that an opportunity will be at your beck and call forever. One day those opportunities will end, and leave you standing there cursing yourself because you stepped over them each day.

We’re in the business of taking your opportunities and turning them into realities. If you think there is an opportunity that we can help you seize by using the web, by all means contact us.

From all of us at silverorange, and all of us from the energetic PEI delegation I thank you for taking the time to meet me, my company, and my dog.

Thank you.