Our Frankie will forever be in our hearts, and now, thanks to you, in the White Stone.

It all began in December 2013, when we went to Zooland with the kids, just to look at the fish, birds, and other residents of the huge pet store. On the first floor, in a corner behind the cashier, there was a transparent box with a tiny white fluffy Maltese puppy inside. He was so cute and playful that the kids couldn’t look at anything else, only at this little white fluff. But that day we didn’t take him home because we were going on vacation, and we promised the kids that if in January, when we returned, he was still there, we would take him. And that’s exactly what happened, and from that moment, Frankie became an inseparable part of our lives.

He was always by our side and couldn’t stay home alone, so he had his favorite bag in which he traveled and explored the world. Frankie accompanied us to stores, visited friends with us, went to cafés, helped pick strawberries in the garden, and even once went to the sea. He would endure anything just not to lose sight of us. Sometimes, when we couldn’t take Frankie with us, we left him with grandma, as we jokingly said in kindergarten, and he would just sit all day by the door, waiting and waiting for us to return.

Watching him, hugging him, and kissing him was pure joy. Eleven years of memories, happiness, love, and loyalty. Eleven years may seem a very short life for us, but it was a lifetime for our beloved pet. Frankie, who had so brightly filled our lives, left us so quickly, it seemed impossible. He passed away after two weeks — terrifying two weeks of hospitals, IV drips, battling liver disease, and searching for a magical pill to keep him alive and sharing life with us. Frankie left us on September 21, 2024, at five in the morning.

Three months have passed, but it still hurts. It feels like he might walk into the room, climb into our arms, and sleep peacefully. And indeed, he sleeps — in his favorite spot on the pillow, in the White Stone.

We are grateful to you for the very idea of creating a symbol of memory and love, for the possibility of being with Frankie forever.

This poem is dedicated to our friend and family member Frankie (officially Franklin):

Friend
I hold the memory of you,
Never letting it go from my hands.
Your little face is on it,
My four-legged friend.

Your nose always followed the wind,
And who could we ask
Why in the sky your long life
Was forgotten to grant?

Smart, easygoing, never doubtful,
For loved ones, friends, and family
You would give your life.

You flew to help first,
Saw no obstacles.
Nothing could change
Your thirst for adventure.

Life is a cup, you drank it all,
Do not fly away, always.
In a bright day and the hard night,
You were always near.

You close your eyes as if asleep,
Around — emptiness.
And the White Stone in my hand,
Which is called Kindness!