# For anyone that has ever lost a wonderful hunting companion



## redlabel (Mar 7, 2002)

THE BEST PLACE TO BURY A DOG

We are thinking now of a setter,
whose coat was flame in the sunshine and who,
so far as we are aware,
never entertained a mean or unworthy thought.
This setter is buried beneath a cherry tree,
under four feet of garden loam,
and at its proper season the cherry tree
strews petals on the green lawn of his grave. 
Beneath a cherry tree, or an apple,
or any flowering shrub of the garden,
is an excellent place to bury a dog.
Beneath such trees, such shrubs,
he slept in the drowsy summer,
or gnawed at a flavored bone,
or lifted his head to challenge
some strange intruder.
There are good places, in life or in death.
Yet it is a small matter,
and it touches sentiment
more than anything else.
For if the dog be well remembered,
if sometime he leaps through
your dreams actual as in life, 
eyes kindling, questing,
asking, laughing, begging,
it matters not at all where that
dog sleeps and at last .
on a hill where the wind is unrebuked,
and the trees are roaring,
or beside a stream he knew in puppyhood,
or somewhere in the flatness of a pasture land,
where most exhilarating cattle graze.
It is all one to the dog, and all one to you,
and nothing is gained, and nothing is lost-
if memory lives.
But there is one best place to bury a dog.
One place that is best of all.

There is one best place
to bury a dog.

If you bury him in this spot, he will 
come to you when you call -
come to you over the grim, dim frontier
of death, and down the well-remembered 
path, and to your side again.

And though you call a dozen living 
dogs to heel, they shall not growl at 
him, nor resent his coming,
for he belongs there.

People may scoff at you, who see
no lightest blade of grass bent by his
footfall, who hear no whimper, people 
who may never really have had a dog.
Smile at them, for you shall know 
something that is hidden from them, and which is well worth the knowing.

*"The one best place to bury a good 
dog is in the heart of his master."*

By Ben Hur Lampman
from the Portland Oregonian Sept. 11, 1925
AKA "If A Dog Be Well Remembered"
AKA "Where To Bury A Dog"


----------



## Dexter (Sep 27, 2004)

Thank you very much. As I lost my Dexter yesterday, these are very reassuring words. And as they say... he'll be buried in my heart forever.

Thanks for everything Dex... we love you, we miss you, and we'll never forget you.


----------



## 94silverado (Oct 16, 2005)

My Friends hunting dog passed away last weekend and my friend was upset so i sent him that in a email he now has it tacked in the ceiling of his pickup. Its sad losing a best friend like that. I spent so many days duck hunting with him and his dog that i felt as bad as my friend.


----------



## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Sorry for your loss Dexter. I miss my buddy Dio yet but have so many happy memories of him I always end up smiling when I think about him. Here is a nice story.

WHY DOGS DON'T LIVE LONGER THAN PEOPLE

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year- old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.

We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply, Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.


----------



## cut'em (Oct 23, 2004)

I recently lost my my best freind, my beagle, she was 12 years old but didn't know it. It's tough not having her here, seems weird at times not hearing her bark when I get out of the truck. We'll all go through this one day with our pets it's not easy.
I miss you beagle!!!!!!!


----------



## sportsman18 (Jan 18, 2005)

Im only 17 and lost my first dog this past fall, seemed like she was really coming along, she died at 8 months old, after a great day hunting.


----------



## honkbuster3 (Jan 11, 2006)

That is a great poem. My dog was just diagnosed with a extremely bad case of Liver cancer. Her liver is 5X its normal size. She is not good and has only about 3 weeks to live. She has been such a great dog and she will never be forgotten. I will miss her and I will remember her for my entire life. She was my first hunting dog and my best friend. She was human to me and was always there for me. I don't know how I will feel when she is gone. I trained her since she was 10 weeks old and she lived to be 10 years old.I love her so much.


----------



## 94NDTA (May 28, 2005)

Nice poem. I've lost three setters, Angel, Monte, and Chase. Chase passed away last year of a brain tumer. He lost his eye sight when he was 7 years old. Too bad because he was in his prime. He was the best hunter I've had, and a loyal freind. I will miss you chase.


----------

