My six-year old Border Collie cross Spaniel had a close brush with death yesterday and I had an epiphany. According to the excellent Dog Years Calculator from OnlineConversion.com (where you can also convert to Judiasm in a few simple clicks), Candy is 37 - a primary school six to you and me but a firm middle-age for her and her canine-kind.
By either calendar it's too soon to go, surely, but consider this: if I were a dog, and the jury's still out on that one, I'd be 97. 97! And what have I done in my dog's life? I ain't never caught a rabbit, that's for sure. And I've not been working like a dog either.
Although I'm not quite sure of the exact meaning of this epiphanic moment, I will take from it some sketchy lessons nevertheless. I'll work harder, I'll be a more loyal friend, I'll listen more, I'll sharpen my sense of smell, I might even catch a rabbit, so to speak.
Candy's going to be okay. She might need an operation on her back leg but she'll live to chew another bone. And I spoke to my ex-girlfriend yesterday and held back from most of what I wanted to say to her. One reason the dog has so many friends: He wags his tail instead of his tongue. And from the same page of Dog Related Quotations and Sayings, I'll leave you with this from Groucho Marx, of the Marx Brothers and Marxism fame:
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
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