Dog Epitaph
Sep 5th, 2007 by Kate
Two timeless and poignant epitaphs marking the loss of two well-loved dogs:
1. EPITAPH FOR A SMALL DOG (Le Baron Cooke, ca. 1935)
Here rests a little dog/ Whose feet never ran faster/ Than when they took the path/ Leading to his master.
2. TO BOTSWAIN (George Noel Gordon, Lord Byron, 1808)
Near this spot/ Are deposited the Remains of one who possessed Beauty/ Without Vanity,/ Strength without Insolence,/ Courage without Ferocity,/ And all the Virtues of Man/ Without his Vices.
This Praise, which would be unmeaning flattery/ If inscribed over Human Ashes,/ Is but a just tribute to the Memory of/ ‘Botswain’, a Dog/ Who was born at Newfoundland/ May, 1803,/ And died at Newstead Abbey/ Nov. 18, 1808.
