35 Replies to “Loyalty”

  2. This one’s been making the rounds.
    Wish my dog was this loyal.  Unfortunately, she seems to regard me as the funny two-legged pack animal whose responsibility it is to keep her fed, watered, warm and entertained, with an occasional side order of health care.
    In other words, typical female.  😉

  3. Saw this on Fox News this a.m.,and as the ‘Mom’ to three beautiful 4-legged boys,must admit I had a little cry.Just hit my heart hard.

  4. Heartbreaking image. I’ve had dogs my whole life and they truly are wonderful creatures. God bless Petty officer Jon Tumilson, his family and Hawkeye his wonderful, loyal friend.

  9. Gee. Only one puppy at the flag-draped casket?
    Fellow must have been a conservative 😉

  10. Jamie MacMaster
    “Gee. Only one puppy at the flag-draped casket?
    Fellow must have been a conservative ;)”
    Pretty much.
    Now ya know why ACORN etc. delay mailing the absentee ballots to service-people abroad.

  11. I’m thinking this is one of those times where a guy can shed a few tears without fear. Good boy Hawkeye.
    Godspeed Jon Tumilson — you can rest now.

  12. Saw a similar picture of a farmer in Zimbabwe, who had been murdered defending his property from some of Mugabe’s thugs. The farmer lies where he fell and his dog lies beside his sheet covered body, allowing no one to go near.

  16. I’ve been there in a reversed role having put to rest several family canine members in the garden in the past. It keeps the memories of the love they all have shown me close. Dogs truely are a blessing to mankind.
    bverwey

  19. Couldn’t agree more, Artic Al; (and haven’t we met on Dave Barry’s blog?)
    Reminds me poignantly of my first experience with a deceased person as a rookie RCMP member at my first posting, a small detachment in Alberta.
    An elderly man had died of natural causes in bed in his home…hottest July for a few years, a completely closed up house, and not discovered for almost two weeks…needless to say it was a very unpleasant experience.
    But the man’s small dog had apparently remained at his side for the duration, emaciated, hungry, but neither disturbed the body nor, as best we could tell, had left him alone.
    As soon as we broke in, the pup rushed out of the house, evading our attempts to recover him, and he just disappeared.
    After we were finished with our work, a cleanup crew took care of the house, which included taking the mattress than the old man had lain on to the town dump…for obvious reasons, the mattress was clearly unuseable. The town dump was simply an open pit accessible to anyone.
    A week or so later, I received a call from one of the townsfolk, who said that there was a dog there, who had been lying on the same mattress for days, and would not leave for any reason, water, treats etc.
    I attended and of course recognized that it was the old man’s dog, lying on his mattress. And he wouldn’t leave for me either.
    The pup was in terrible condition. No small animal vet within about 50 miles. Phone consultation with a vet in Calgary told me that euthanasia was the only acceptable humane way of handling the matter by that point.
    I refused to use the town’s method of pet euthanasia, which consisted of a crude plywood box with a hose connected to the exhaust pipe of a motor vehicle. I considered that cruel and barbaric.
    So I shot that poor animal to put him out of his misery. Given my deep-seated love of dogs, it was probably one of the worst feelings I have ever had.
    When I go, my ashes, and those of all of my dogs, will be deposited at a favorite anchorage in the BC gulf islands.

  20. Another Greyfriars Bobby!
    Posted by: DrD at August 25, 2011 7:32 PM
    I remember that show; beautiful!!
    Disney.. before the same-sex marriage madness settled in.

  21. Interesting,
    how dogs can show noble behaviour and there are those people that find it difficult.

  22. bverwey said “Dogs truly are a blessing to mankind”. Agreed.
    Bruce, I have had to do the same a few times over the years and it still hurts. I remember each one.

  23. Black Mamba – That’s the one! Don’t know how you guys find these things. Man’s best friend! (women’s too).

  24. God bless that soldier, his unfortunate comrades in that crash, and their families.
    We should not have spilled one drop of coalition blood in that hellhole.
    To fight seventh century barbarism sucessfully you must deploy a counter in the same mindset. Use whatever resourcess you have. The optimal response with arguably the lowest loss of life overall, would have been to dial an ICBM into one known heavily Taliban infested valley.
    The seventh century barbarian recognises and respects power, and the wind would have been taken out of the islamists sails. For decades, perhaps for good.
    Opportunity missed, planet in the balance.

  26. Ya know — When I see that flag-drapped coffin with the dog and compare it to that which has laid -in-state the last two…………….
    Well – ya know.

  28. Bruce, your story made me cry. You did what needed to be done; sometimes you have to be “cruel to be kind.”
    I’ve had to put a few hamsters out of their misery (drowning seemed the best way) and cried every time with my kids, then helped them bury them, complete with hymns, prayers, and popsicle-stick crosses to mark their graves.
    I’ve outlived my dog who was my shadow when he was alive. I cried for six hours straight when we had to put him down, and still cry years later when I think of him. Best darned companion I ever had — apologies to my husband!!!

  29. This reminds me of a front page photo years ago (National Post?) of an elderly white Zimbabwean farmer who had been murdered by Mugabe’s thugs. The body was lying, covered by a sheet, in front of his house. Lying beside the body was his small dog.
    Damn, I miss my lab.

  30. I prefer most dogs I’ve met to most people I’ve met. Not all, but most. Dogs do naturally what we have to work at. As somebody said above, they are put here as an example.

  31. batb – how about getting another dog! I have said goodbye to several beloved companions, and while another dog will never be the same, all in their own ways find a place in your heart. And getting to know a new one sure can fill a gap left by a loss. I agree – wonderful animals.

  32. Sue C., my husband and I decided that after the kids moved out and our darling dog died (hey, my kids are usually darling too, except when they’re not 😉 we’d live without animals.
    Long story short, it’s far easier to take vacations without having to find someone to care for our animals which we usually had to do in our situation.
    Now, I enjoy other people’s pets — which I don’t have to feed or take to the vet’s!
    Call me heartless, but it works for us!

  35. My family’s old cat was put down a year ago (I found her I a tree when she was a kitten). I very, very rarely cry (partly because I consider crying a sign of hysteria and weakness, and partly because I’m an emotionally dead right-winger with a shrivelled lump of coal where my heart should be, you know how that goes), and I was sobbing. She died in my arms. The vets actually looked slightly shocked; don’t most people cry?
    infinitysquared @9:45 – H8ter!!!!!!!!

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