The Dog Who Wouldn't Die

On a radio show where I was being interviewed, the host invited people to call in and tell stories of how their dogs had helped them.

One man called and said he didn't have that kind of story; he had a different sort. His grandpa, a farmer, had a dog who kept having brushes with death. Once, someone shot the dog accidentally. Twice, the dog got hit by cars. He got into poison and got ill. He had periods when he was sick and recovering, but nothing Life threw at the dog could take him out.

The dog was the farmer's constant companion. Then the farmer got sick. The dog stayed at the ill man's side. When the farmer died, it seemed for a while like the dog might transfer his loyalty to the farmer's widow. He stayed attentive to her for a few days, then went back to wandering the farm, searching for his friend, the farmer.

Two weeks after the farmer died, the dog laid down and didn't wake up. The family thought it was amazing that the dog who had withstood all kinds of calamities and injuries couldn't survive the loss of his best human friend.