Dick, Rabbit Dog

Dick, my first pet, appeared one morning,

Having been dropped off, an abandoned puppy,

Not far from our country house.

He was white, with an ill-fitting brown patch over one eye.
     One eye was brown; one was the color of clabber.

One hip was not right.  His tail was not straight.

We had no reason not to feed him, and

From the first feeding to his vanishing nine years later,

He was my pet.

But more than a pet,

He fleshed out and revealed himself to be a rabbit dog;

But more than a rabbit dog,

He matured into a master rabbit dog,

Hunting with wild passion,

Savoring the hunt. 

If a neighbor or relative

Appeared with a gun,

Dick’s spirit seized him, and

Excited beyond control,

Provoked a hunt.

This for nine years, but

One day Dick was gone.

Baffled and grieving,

My mother tried to comfort me with:

It was good that I did not have to bury him.

--May 5, 2013