A Tribute To A Dog
I am still having issues
with the loss of Howie,
So much anger because of the mistakes made
by the Drs and the animal hospital.
I also struggle daily (hourly at times) with the fact
that I wasn't there in his last moments.
As these past 2 years have unfolded,
with all my medical issues,
it really was Howie who got me through
the tough days and gave me a reason
to get out of bed or not retreat to it.
Not to mention the other 13 years
he never left my side.
If you have never loved an animal
that way you most likely will not understand.
Your loss
All I know is the speech is
how I feel, and I'm tired of
pretending it's getting better
and this most of all.
"The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous... is his dog."
In 1869 A senator George Graham Vest represented a plaintiff whose dog had been shot by a neighbor who questioned the $150.00 he was asked to pay "for this mere animal."
This is the speech Senator Senator Vest of Missouri gave to the jury: It is known as A Tribute To A Dog
"Gentlemen of the jury: the best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his worst enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it the most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.
The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous... is his dog.
Gentlemen of the Jury: a man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death."
I found this speech today by hearing another
given in 1936 by Lionel Barrymore
in the film The Voice of Bugle Ann
He attributes it to the Senator
"The best friend a man may have in the world can turn agin him. A man's son or his daughter that he's raised the best way he knows how may turn agin him. Folks that he trusts more than anyone else in the world can turn out to be snakes in the grass. A man can lose all his money just when he needs it the most. Folks that are cheering a man most when he's successful is the first one to heave a rock at him when he falls down. The only absolutely unselfish friend a man can have, one that will never be ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. Yes sir, a man's dog will stand by him rich or poor, sick or well. He'll sleep on the cold ground, don't make no difference. Wind or snow, all he asks is just to stand by him. He'll kiss the hand that ain't got no food to give him; he'll guard the sleep of a pauper just like he was a king. And when all his other friends is gone there you'll find his dog. A man might not have no roof to his head; he'd be friendless and homeless, and all the faithful dog asks is just to stand by him. Guard him agin any danger, that he kin. And when it's all over, a man can lay in Potter's Field in a grave that ain't got no headstone, there you'll find his dog. With his eyes sad, but open and watchin'. With his head between his paws, just waitin' ..."