{Dogs: A Dedication of Love}

For Archie & Charlie - International Dog Day 2025

Archibald Judd, my stubborn boy,

exuberant and irrepressible,

strong-willed, now half-deaf yet loud in protest,

always ready to prove himself the top dog,

yet still, you fold yourself behind me, shadow-faithful,

knowing I’m the one who leads.

Charles Ogilvie, my gentle boy,

nicknamed Chuck, Feeny, my velvet-eared gentleman,

first bought by my son, then gifted to me,

sedate but unstoppable on a scent,

soft as prayer, gentle as sleep,

the quietest therapy I never asked for but always needed.

Fourteen years, twin flames born a week apart,

not brothers by blood, but bound in the marrow of time.

Two hearts aging, aching,

medicine-laden, slowing, yet resilient,

slowed but never faltering in spirit or loyalty.

We are three in one household,

the boys and I, our family of fur (everywhere) and love,

laughter and quarrel, park runs and long car waits,

companionable silence and noisy devotion.

I brace for the unthinkable,

their absence,

the hollow space in the car,

the empty bowls, the quiet rooms.

But today is not that day.

Today I honour them.

Today I say:

you are my beloveds, my steadfast guardians,

my Archie and Charlie.

No greater gift than your years beside me.