Old dogs and children and watermelon wine

Tom T Hall was more of a story teller than a singer per se and the above is one of his songs.  He speaks of an old colored man cleaning up a lounge where Tom was "sipping blended whiskey down"  while laid over between engagements.

I've always loved the story and the visual of the old man sitting down uninvited and opening up his mind about "old dogs and children and watermelon wine".  He said old dogs care about you even when you make mistakes and god  bless little children while they are still too young to hate.


Don't think the link to the song worked but if you search on the title you can find it :)


I think anyone who has had animals is familiar with the bittersweet feelings of watching a treasured four legged friend  go from that wild child puppy who just about drove you insane, through the middle years of being a bit better behaved and a lot more fun to do things with to that inevitable stage of  slow decline.  To where they might still want to do the walks and games you used to enjoy together but they just don't have the energy any more.

Their eyes still watch your every move and they try to follow you around as before.  But their eyes are clouding over and the old joints make it hard to get up and down so sometimes they just wait for you to come back into the room rather than jump up and go with you.

The last few months of my Jack's life I used to carry him in and out to enjoy some time outside and even carry him down the road so he could walk back to the house.  He never was a jumping around guy but he was always very aware of what I was doing and where I was.   My family made fun of him for not being more active but I understood that it was just his way.  And who knew what the first 6 years of his life had been like - he was a rescue dog and aside from being told he was a "puppy mill yard dog" we really knew nothing about his previous life.

 The last fall he was alive he had an operation for a tumor and for a few months he just seemed to get a second lease on life.  He ran down the road and he jumped up on the porch and totally seemed to enjoy just having fun.

Sadly it was not to continue because in February of the most brutal winter in years he developed lymphoma - he was too old for it to be reasonable or even effective to do massive treatments so it was prednisone for comfort and company for the same.  I must have made 30 crocheted scarves that winter while I kept him company on his journey.  Even the carrying in and out was doable cause he wasn't a very big dog.  He even forgave me the time I fell down on the ice - just lay there waiting for me to gather myself and him up and carry on!

But came the time when it was obvious that he was losing control of himself and I couldn't bear to let that go on.  My vet is a wonderful woman who comforted both of us when the time came - she brought him a soft fuzzy blanket to lie on and easy to eat treats to chew on while she gave him the meds that would set him free to run at the Bridge.

I knew it was his time to go and it was the last gift I could give him but it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.

So cherish your old dogs along with your children and don't forget to have an occasional glass of watermelon wine - or the wine of your choice!  Time passes so fast that things that seemed to go on forever will, in retrospect, seem like a flash in the pan!