When a dog knows too much

Gold cherry

By Jane Hyphen

Fri, 03 Jul 2026
  • 198 reads
19 comments
 

 

When a dog knows too much 

he will soon return to the place where all dogs are made

and you must begin to pack for his departure.

 

Pack his exuberance into the lightwell of your heart

to draw upon in the duller days ahead.

Pack his fearlessness into the gap

where fright once tore a hole in your resolve.

Place his image in a heart-shaped frame

to hang on the inner walls of the room

where you go as you drift off to sleep.

 

When he looks into your eyes with knowing

but you are full of doubt, remember,

a dog is like a holiday;

you must control the urge to taint the end with sadness

because a dog would never do this.

 

He put his trust in you, now fold it away

to open later when you’re feeling shaky.

Pack his scent into your first aid kit, label,

‘Inhale deeply during times of strain’

His companionship is safely interred in a bond

to draw upon whenever you need a friend.

 

Pack his love away deeply and firm it down.

Allow the roots of it to spread across your lifetime,

to hold you up when you are weak.

 

When he understands every word you say,

he’s bracing to bow out of the outer world.

Stay lit for his remaining days,

knowing you’ve packed him up safely.

Forever in your inner universe.

 

 

Certificate U
Poem

Comments

Submitted by Makis on

What a lovely heartfelt poem Jane. I've owned dogs all my life and I know exactly where you're coming from. Memorable!

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thank you, Makis. I'm on my second dog, he's 12 now. As a child I used to think about all the dogs I'd have as an adult, somehow there's not enough time. I'll probably only have two more. That's only four, unless I get a pack.

 

Submitted by Makis on

I think taking things one dog at a time is  best.

 

Submitted by Turlough on

I love these lines Jane...

a dog is like a holiday;

you must control the urge to taint the end with sadness

because a dog would never do this.

A lovely poem altogether, but you hit the nail right on the head just there. We have two dogs and time is running out for both of them. I'm sure I'll read your poem again.

Turlough

Submitted by GlosKat on

My favourite lines too.  

When my first cat died, I cried buckets.  Then I realised I was crying for me, not her, because she had gone and there was nothing more I could do for her.  But there were lots of poor cats stll needing help from Cats Protection, where she came from.  And there was something I could for them.  So I gave a donation in her name, and although I still felt sad, it was a sort of positive sadness.

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thank you GlosKat. The passing of a beloved pet can bring out all sorts of suppressed grief. Good thing to donate to an animal charity. I'm still astonished that we don't have enforced sterilisation of our dogs and cats.

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Hi Turlough, yes I remember experiencing this with my previous dog when he was clearly on the way out, trying to be happy around him. I hope your two dogs stay healthy for as long as possible. Thanks for reading.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Oh, Jane, you understand completely how it is.
THANK YOU for this Wise, Beautiful Truth

I hope all the animals who live with you are well, that this is not about one, now

As Turlough says, will want to read this again. Would it be ok to save it in my laptop?

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Yes of course, save it, I would love to know that you are doing that. My dog is twelve now and I know you have to do some emotional gymnastics to face the end of their lives without falling apart completely so I tried to break it down into managable steps. 

 

Submitted by insertponceyfre... on

Jane this is beautiful and as everyone above has said, echoes with us all. It says everything that needs to be said without any of the mawkishness or euphemisms. Thank you - I will come back to this often, please don't ever remove it

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thank you Insert, I won't. I wrote it to help myself because I'll be facing this soon and I know it can't be dealt with all at once, you have to pre-grieve and be grateful for the experience you had together.

 

Submitted by lenchenelf on

Carefully constructed to carry the weight. Warm, comforting in a grief here or to come for many pet companions, for we are theirs, they are/were our guides.

Very best to you

L x

 

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thank you, lenchenelf. They really do guide us. The worst parting I've experienced was with a certain cat, so long ago now but it's so hard with all of them.

 

Submitted by celticman on

I'm not an animal person. I don't even eat them. But this is lovely. 

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Funnily enough, I don't eat them either but that's mostly because I was an extremely fussy eater as a child. I'm a full on animal person though and I know it can't be cured, they're the best thing about living on earth. Thank you for your comment, celticman.

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

OK...Hang on a minute, I've got something in my eye.

Very beautiful. With any animal, you know that sooner or later they'll break your heart and mend it as well. I've said goodbye to four cats over the years. Forever in my inner universe indeed.

Thanks for this one.

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thank you airyfairy. They really do but they're thoroughly worth it. My cats live in my heart too, they each bring something so different to our lives. Purrfect companions for writers and readers.

 

Submitted by marandina on

There's nothing quite like the bond of a dog and its owner. It's over 3 years since our border collie died. I think the plan is to finally move on and get a new BC around Christmas time. We'll see. 

A moving poem infused with love and empathy. Dogs are the best of us. 

 

Submitted by insertponceyfre... on

This wonderful poem is our social media Pick of the Day

Please share far and wide