When you have visiting family, there is often very little time to do anything else.
Chris is not much of an organiser when things that are not work involved. He prefers to let me fine tune things. It's the way we work.
And so on Friday he mentioned that Mrs Trellis had phoned to ask us all round for a quick drink but had deferred the " sorting out " to me.
I called round at dusk to say we would come.
" I've just been writing an eulogy for sweep" she said and although I was busy, I asked to hear it.
I was glad that I did
There were no lights on in Mrs Trellis' house, and in the gloom of dusk in her kitchen she read out her thoughts about her cherished old dog without embarrassment. Her voice quiet .
I found the whole thing rather moving.
A companion warm and true, whenever I was sad, you came with enquiring eye
Bright with love.
Many many miles we walked.
In early morning mists, past sunlit meadows,
enjoyed warm summer days.
In Autumn the changing leaves matched the colours of your lovely coat.
We saw squirrels chase, we heard the woodpecker drill his tree,
the buzzard mew, teaching her young to hunt.
We stood aside as horses passed.
Head held high, you sniffed the air of the new mown hay, honeysuckle and pine.
You travelled on with proud step in wind, rain and winter snows when even the rooks
were silent.
We walked in the pink glow of fabulous sunsets.
To see the light go from your beautiful eyes.
No more, the lick on my hand , or the paw to hold,
No more the clown to play your favourite ball games.
The garden is quiet, your blackbird does not come to welcome the eventide
I miss him too.
So until we can be together once more
Goodbye and god bless
The depth of affection humans possess for animals baffle some people, but I think anyone " non dog" would have been moved by Mrs Trellis' sincerity and her reading of a poem at a gloomy kitchen table on a bank holiday weekend.
If Mrs Trellis had lost a relative then, as a regular Churchgoer, I would have thought she would have received support and comfort from the whole congregation. But because she had lost her dog, I don't think that she had received one card of sympathy.
Funny that.
