Lucy. Action pics are hard to come by!
Today I took my girl up to the "park". The park is a huge cemetery a few miles away. We drive up there. Lucy hates to ride in most any vehicle but if I tell her we're going to the park, she'll jump right in the car. The park is her most favorite place of all. Wide open spaces with meandering roads to trot down. Mostly treeless, there is heavy vegetation along three sides. She'll flush out a rabbit on occasion, and once, chased a fox for a bit. But the Canada geese are the main attraction. Hundreds gather there and I'm not certain why as there is no water nearby. Lucy doesn't chase but watches them with great interest. She'll lay on the grass watching their every move while I wander about and read the grave markers.
This isn't an old resting place. Per the sign, it opened in 1938. It is an African-American cemetery and doesn't allow headstones, so each grave is marked with a bronze plaque. My favorite marker honors Benjamin Harrison Taylor.
Mr. Taylor played in the Negro League from 1908-1929. He started out as a pitcher but primarily played at first base. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. According to the marker, he was a great player and manager, and a gentleman. He was born on my spouse's birth day, and died the day I was born.
Here's the bit about Dog Power:
Off in the distance I could see a funeral taking place. It was 5-600 yards away; far enough that I didn't feel that we were intruding but to be certain, steered Lucy up a back path and away from the services. All seemed fine until Lucy suddenly stopped, cocked her ears, twisted about, and after the slightest pause, took off running towards the gathering. I shouted after her, trying to be loud enough to bring her back, but not so loud as to disturb the attendees and family.
Lucy seemed to be on a mission and I watched as she raced towards the casket. I saw her approach an elderly woman sitting alone nearest the grave. The woman reached out and patted Lucy's head. Lucy stretched out at her feet for a few minutes, then moved over next to the casket and sat down. I was mortified by all of this. Lucy sat there as the casket was lowered. The small gathering started to break up with some speaking to the woman before leaving. Soon, it was just Lucy, the woman, and the minister. I saw them share a few words and shake hands. The woman sat down again and Lucy walked over and I could see that she was giving Lucy some attention. I started to walk towards them but wasn't certain what to do. Finally the woman turned and seemed to be looking to see if Lucy was with someone. I raised my hand to wave and she beckoned me over.
As soon as I was close enough, I began my apologies but the woman waved them off and started to tell me about her only brother. It seems that he was an avid dog lover and had lost his dog some months ago. The woman said she was so pleased that Lucy had come to "visit" during the ceremony and how happy her brother would have been. We chatted a bit about dogs and life. She put her hand on my arm and thanked me for bringing Lucy to say goodbye to her brother and talked about her disappointment that so few of her friends had taken time to attend the service. She said Lucy restored her faith in the power of God. I am not a religious person but knew what she meant. We were both in tears.
I cannot say why Lucy did this. She is always a kind and gentle friend and today, more than ever before, I think I am the luckiest person alive.
1:33 PM PT: Updated with a Lucy pic
2:47 PM PT: I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the number of dog lovers here, but I am. Thanks to all for reading and for your comments. Who knew Lucy was such a popular name? Wish we could take credit for naming her but she came to us that way and at 2 1/2 yrs old, we didn't want to change it.
Dogs bring out the best in us all.