Gus the Brave and a Tribute to Our Furry Friends

Gus the Brave

My life was saved the other day
A golden retriever, both dumb and brave.

Country winds howling in their greatest defense
As I waltzed 'tween electric and barbed-wire fence.

He let out a bark, “It's time to turn back!”
Soon followed a powerful THUD and a CRA-A-A-CK.

If not for that old dog running after me,
I would have been stuck under a fallen oak tree

One windy day in The Plains, I was alone on the ranch and wanting to venture into the woods.

I had no phone, no one due back for hours and no one within miles around.

When strong wings blow through the surrounding woods; when the soil is just the right amount of moist; conditions are perfect for entire trees to uproot.

Yet onward I went, not listening to my own inner voice.

Just as I sneak past both boundary fences, I look back and see Gus running after me. Barking and galloping, trying to get my attention, I turned back just in time. Whether he knew it or not, that dog risked his life for me.

Right where I was standing only a mere few seconds before, a tree fell before my eyes, crushing the earth and plants beneath it...

Thanks to him I can say I'm alive.

Waltzing with Gus-Gus, my Golden Retriever! <3

The past couple of days have been tough on the heart. Just a day after we found out Dexter's best friend, Mastodon the Bull Mastiff, had to be put to rest, I learn my old pup, Gus, back on the farm, may be nearing the end of his own life. As much as I will always love my pets, this will never get easier with time.


When we grow old with our pets, they become our constant companions, and often times our "thunder buddy" and best friend. There's something about our pets that make us better people.


They teach us how to care and nurture for another being, how to develop trust and understanding, and most importantly how to love and be loved by someone and something entirely different from who we are.

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Here's to remembering all the four-legged friends we've loved and lost along the way.
May they always guide us and remind us to be better human beings;
To show each other love, with the gentleness and excitement
That only our fur-family knows how to give best.

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