Butchie

Butchie was a Bouvier des Flandres and he belongs to my good friend Kevin Heinrich and his first wife, Denise. He was very friendly, but boy, did he ever have a loud bark. I didn’t get to know him very well, but I do know that he was Denise’s baby boy. 

There was a dog,

That I once knew,

Who was as special,

As me or you.

He went by Butchie,

Both big and black,

When dogs passed by,

He wanted to attack.

His bark was loud,

With this he could scare,

Even in the summer,

When Denise cut his hair.

He was more than bark,

And he never would bite,

A human, that is,

Be it day or night.

And when he drank,

His whiskers got wet,

Leaving drops on the floor,

For Talya to get.

When someone came over,

They got a big sniff,

Never really knowing,

What scent he did whiff.

Between your legs,

He would shove,

Just for some attention,

And a little bit of love.

When the day was done,

After he’d been fed,

Off with Denise and Kevin,

And onto the bed.

For a dog he was not,

Who can really say,

But he touched us all,

In his own special way.

We will miss him sorely,

Both day and night,

For he did not give up,

And fought a good fight.

Now he has moved on,

We realize with a start,

But he will always be here,

Deep in our heart.

Conan Tigard

March 31, 2001