"Great heart, but not too bright"
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This is a poem that a
neighbor wrote about Shadow a few weeks before he died, and
posted it in her front yard.
Big lumpy dog
Shuffles around the neighborhood
drools on my shoe
still wags his lumpy butt
for a scratch behind the ear
Big lumpy dog
smiling a rubber-lipped doggy smile
shuffles his way along
he winks at me
as he shambles across the street.
Not a pretty dog anymore
but a loved dog
Have patience with
the big lumpy dog
yes, they know his end is near
he'll get there eventually
but in the meantime
still enjoying the scenery.
I brought Shadow
home for Sophia's 10th birthday. Among the things he gave
me was a new pair of eyes into the world of animals.
Sometimes I would look at a wild animal or the like
on TV and see Shadow peeking out thru the animals eyes.
Not all animals, but not just mammals either. It became a
family game, when I 'saw' shadow in an animal - I'd say
excitedly - 'Look- Shadow'. My wife and the older children
caught on and would point out Shadow in the oddest places.
It was like falling in love and seeing your beloved in
every woman's visage and movement. So Shadow 'gave' me the
world of non-human sentient beings, and through him I
loved the world a bit more.
We - the Carmiens and Shadow- were so very fortunate that
'Aunt Beth' and Karl had him for the last 4 years of his
life - Beth loved to walk with him and he had a real yard,
and he loved them very much.