Farewell To Toby

For days I have clicked over to read Mary Lee's blog with trepidation. Her most beloved Toby, a golden retriever, has passed away. I know he brought so much love to their family, and his presence will be achingly missed for months.

I posted this poem for Mary Lee and Toby at Full Fathom Five in commenting, but perhaps TT readers with pets can relate:


THE BEST PLACE TO BURY A DOG

"There is one best place to bury a dog.
"If you bury him in this spot, he will
come to you when you call - come to you
over the grim, dim frontier of death,
and down the well-remembered path,
and to your side again.

"And though you call a dozen living
dogs to heel, they shall not growl at
him, nor resent his coming,
for he belongs there.

"People may scoff at you, who see
no lightest blade of grass bent by his
footfall, who hear no whimper, people
who may never really have had a dog.
Smile at them, for you shall know
something that is hidden from them,
and which is well worth the knowing.

"The one best place to bury a good
dog is in the heart of his master."

--- Ben Hur Lampman ---

I'm so sorry, Mary Lee.