Life Sketches

Saying goodbye to
Bert, man's best friend

Bert always watched me, even though he didn’t let on. He was an Irish setter and thought his only purpose was to hunt birds. I’d come home from work and peek through the fence to see him lounging upside down in the grass. Then I’d enter the yard and as soon as he’d see me he’d jump to his feet, his old bones grinding and start hunting up the mourning doves that often light below our hedges. I know it took great effort for him to make this display of vigor as if to say, “You see, boss, I still have it.” Later, he’d swagger up to me for a rewarding pat on the head.

When he was younger, I used to take him down to Brooklyn’s Plumb Beach so that he could work the ducks that stay in the tall grass or on the water down there. He’d never catch any, just keep them on their toes while venting some of his limitless energy. Often he’d swim out in the water after them. One time, while driving to the beach, we were coming off the exit from the parkway when Bert spotted a plane flying low towards Kennedy Airport. He got so excited he jumped out the window while the car was going about forty miles per hour. Luckily he wasn’t run over and only suffered some bone deep abrasions on his legs and chin.