Eulogy on the Dog
By Dr. Tony LoBue
There are
many reasons for having a dog.
The
canine species are remarkable.
There are
dogs who perform many important tasks which include arson detecting dogs, guard
dogs, hearing ear dogs, seeing eye dogs, canine actors, police dogs, mobility
assistant dogs, herding dogs and search and rescue dogs just to name a
few.
But, the
most common reason for owning a dog is for companionship.
There are many reasons why the dog is called
man’s best friend.
Once you let a dog
into your heart and your family, things are never the same.
I’ve said it before, but I believe that the
unconditional love a dog gives to its master compares beautifully and
faithfully to the love God has for His people.
I came
upon this little essay some time ago.
I
hope you enjoy reading the
Eulogy on the
Dog.
“Gentlemen of the jury:
The best friend a man has in this world may
turn against him and become his enemy.
A
son or daughter he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful.
Those who are nearest and dearest to us,
those who we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors.
The money that a man has he may
lose.
It flies away from him perhaps
when he needs it 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 absolute, devoted friend that a man
can have in this selfish world, the one that will never abandon him, the one
that will never prove 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 can 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 result from encounters with
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 wing 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.” Sen. George Graham Vest, 1907