Wonderful writing and am sorry for your loss...
On 11/20/06, Marc Lawrence <MLawrence@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
> I lost my dog, Monty, yesterday to complications arising from
> ultimately from nasal adenocarcinoma. Yes, I know this it OT,
> though I beg your patience (and understand if you'd prefer the
> DELETE key), as Monty, my dog, was also the being I photographed
> more than any other, with Maggie, my other dog, coming in
> second.
>
> Monty was a good dog, but....
>
> ...he was also, in my one-eyed mind, the greatest dog that ever lived;
> a giant; a canine archetype crashing across my universe; a jester
> of galactic renown; a King of Kings; a mental gymnast and gymnastic
> mentalist bar none...but he was also, in the less hyperbolic parts of
> my brain, and in the part of me that understands and knows happiness,
> just exactly what everyone can be fortunate enough to have in
> their lives: a good dog.
>
> Someone called a past dog in their lives a "heart dog", and that
> we may have but one "heart-dog" - that archetype to which others,
> just as much loved, provide detail and decoration and finetuning
> and enhancement, all formed out of the "heart-dog"'s mould even
> while carving their own individual path through our mind's sky.
> Peter has never owned, or been owned by, a dog before and it goes
> without saying that Monty is his. For me, who has owned a dog before
> (Goldie, the family dog), there are some elements of guilt towards
> that former family pet, because I *know* to my core that Monty was
> and is my "heart-dog" too.
>
> He could glide with an inspiring grace across a field, head lifted
> high, highstepping the aire, straight into a tree (and then look
> astounded and offended that the tree did not have the intelligence
> nor good grace to move out of his way). He was the dog that bit other
> dogs, and yet would allow a strange Jack Russell Terrier to raise
> itself on its backlegs, front legs on Monty's shoulder, to sniff
> his face. He was embarrassed by hugs and yet desired to be directly
> under your feet at every unexpected opportunity. He was a hard
> dog to live with at times, especially while out in public amongst
> houndish strangers...and yet nothing rewarding is easy, and my
> struggles, arguments, placations, comforts and mind-melds with
> him showed me my good and my bad qualities, as I saw his reflected
> in mine, and for that I must be grateful, if not always having
> wanted to look into that reflection. He trusted me - that is hard
> for me to be grateful for, for I rarely felt I deserved that trust
> - and that was nectar even when undeserved. He was never anything
> I expected, but was always something that I never knew I needed.
>
> He was clown, fool, lord, knight, fighter, mad eejit, sharp, blunt,
> roar, laughter, howl, slapstick, melodrama, earthy, pungent, claw,
> tooth, clench, buffoon, siege, rescue, child, wise, wiseguy, roar,
> gentle, giant, saved, salve, heart, sole, bonded, found, clever,
> stellar, galumphing, gravitas, embrace, brazier, burning, warming,
> flaming, shining, crazy, diamond...
>
> ...friend.
>
> ...and I miss him, and now, away from his heat; having touched
> my forehead to his so-cold forehead, trying to meld with a mind no
> longer there; shaped my palms about those familiar but so-
> very-cold curves of his anvilled skull, suede ears, and
> sweepingly strong but still flank; as he lay on the stainless
> steel bench, and I covered his now-doused eyes with a hospital
> blanket...I feel crumpled to dust.
>
> Shine on, Monty.
>
> To at least give you all something photographic, here is a very
> small sample of photos - three of Monty, three of Maggie, and one
> of them both "unposing" for the camera (all of which my heavily
> compartmentalised and bottled-up mind is happy to take any
> criticism for):
>
> http://www.parknmeter.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=11
>
> Good boy, Monts! Good boy!
>
> Cheers,
> Marc
> Sydney, Oz
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