A Eulogy for a Chesapeake Bay Retriever Named Max......

Rest in Peace, Sir Maximilian: Maxwell The Brown Buffalo Beast Chesapeake Bay Retriever. You were a good dog........

“That is not dead which can eternal lie, yet with stranger aeons, even Death may die.”

-- H.P. Lovecraft

Indeed, if I could kill that merciless b*****d Death I very well would......

As the burning sun this evening shrank slowly from the skies of West Stockton in the twilight of dusk, I lost an old friend to inevitable death. My big, brown Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Sir Maxwell, died this evening, of old age. He was almost thirteen years old. Even as I sit here pecking away at the indifferent key-board, trying to organize my thoughts, I realize that there are far worse ways for a dog to die than what just happened an hour or so ago to Max. He seemed to have gone into the ether with-out suffering much pain in the end, though I have known for awhile that he was in every-day agony but selfishly, I didn't take him to the veterinarian, for I already knew what they would tell me: that he must be put down. My only excuse is that he seemed to enjoy life still; just last week he was chasing and biting at wafting cigarette smoke that glinted in the warm October sun. This was something he loved to do, especially if the smoke was of burning trees. His eyes were drawn naturally to the smoke.

It was an awful surprise to find my boy dead tonight; my mom told me he had made a strange noise that she heard through the window and as I stepped out the dirty sliding glass door onto the red-wood deck, Max took his last shuddering, twitching breath. I knelt down and laid a gentle hand on his head, whispering that I loved him and that I was sorry.

Maybe some of you have never experienced the unconditional love and loyalty of a pet and if that is the sad truth, then I truly feel absolute pity for you. You have no idea what you are missing and I swear to The Gods that now greet Max in preparation for his new existence that I gladly suffer this acidic grief, embracing it even, in memory to a dog that gave me joyful serenity in times when I was in desperate need of it. If you have never felt what I feel now, then you have truly lived a meaningless life, for it is not how you make yourself feel that matters in this life but more about how you give the caring, loving kindness one should always give to those in need: all animals are in need. If you give your animals food, water, and love, they give you back happiness; in such a cruel World, such a thing should and can never be taken for granted. The empty pain I feel now in my heart will slowly fill with love after this terrible shock, leaving me forever with a memory of a damned good dog……

Res Ipsa Loquitur

Rest in Peace

Sir Maxwell

December 13, 1999 -- October 19, 2012

Andrew N. Farrens

West Stockton, California

October 19, 2012

Author's Note

I was very sad and ill when I wrote this Friday night, after I had taken Max's body to the vet for cremation. I doubt some of you will understand but losing an animal to inevitable Death is sometimes worse than when it happens to a human.....I have vast experience with that asshole Death and e are not friends at all............Res Ipsa Loqutur

Reviews

[quinfinn]

first let me say that i have lost more than one dog to fate. my irish setter, shawn was hit by a truck and killed outright. my pit bull,booboo, was stolen and probably bred to death by dog fighters and my irish setter, jaime, was taken in a malicious divorce. that being said let me state unequivically that there is no greater love than that of a cherished canine for his or her owner/partner, anywhere....period. i understand your grief and offer you condolences for your pain and anguish. this, my friend, was a very touching write.

[lee von cleef]

Cinder,Bugger,Raf,Tasha,Popcorn,Queeny,Tiny,Sarge,Jeb,A pack of Angle dogs,around my heals.......

[MOON]

Touching poignant lovely write to a great companion.

[Ahmad Cox]

Wow amazingly touching and poignant. Thanks for sharing such a strong and powerful piece. Sometimes you will find that Max is still very close and very near even in his passing and as long as you remember him and keep him in your heart a piece of him will always stay

[mandy]

i do understand how intensely we can love a pet and how we grieve when we lose them to death,,,been through it myself.

[Claire Twinn]

I understand and sympathise with your loss. I cried for days when my dog died, but knew that having her made me a better person. It's great to write from the heart like this.

[Charles Anthony Almanza]

I think there is nothing more heartfelt than writing about someone close to us who has unfortunately met Death somewhere along the line. And this - all of it - just managed to make me tear up a bit, as I remember when my dog died a few years back. Heartache is an interesting thing; you're not dying, you're not sick, but you're just hurting everywhere.

Dogs are pure. They are beautiful and natural and untainted by the dark depths of the human psyche. They are innocent and full of love. So yes, I agree that losing your dog Max or my dog Animal is exponentially worse than the death of a human at times.

RIP Sir Maxwell.

And dude, keep writing. You're really good at it.

x

[Dayran]

The art of the giving may well be on the nose. A heart felt write!

[gombeggar]

i know the love of animals and rightness of caring for them only too well...namaste

[de_maruf]

sad!

[Andrew N. Farrens]

Thank-you all for the kind thoughts.......