An awful inevitability

My friend in Holland has just informed me their pet dog has been diagnosed with bone cancer and has only a few weeks to live. It is far too easy to be either over sentimental or at worse, pathetically cynical about such news. But the fact of the matter remains, whether the pet is an addition to a family with children or - as in this case - a replacement for not having children, dog owners face an awful inevitability. Every parent will tell you their greatest fear is that they could have to bury their own child. Thankfully in most families this will never be the case. But those who love and cherish a pet must invariably face this awful end to their relationship. I have a six year old Labrador and know we are probably half way in our time together. These short loving relationships, together with our own brief human lives and loves, and the richness they bring to our mortal experience, can only confirm the fact that it is the foolish and the ignorant who put their faith in material things.