I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Tairnbacher Quini, our beloved 'Kaz' 12 March 1992 - 01 May 2004
She was our other eyes that could see above the clouds;
Our other ears that heard above the winds.
She was the part of us that could reach out into the sea.
She told us a thousand times over that we were her reason for being:
By the way she rested against our legs;
By the way she thumped her tail at our smallest smile;
By the way she showed her hurt when we left without taking her.
(We thought it made her sick with worry when she was not along to care for us.)
When we were wrong, she was delighted to forgive.
When we were angry, she clowned to make us smile.
When we were happy, she was joy unbounded.
When we were fools, she ignored it.
When we succeeded, she bragged.
Without her we are only other humans.
With her we were all-powerful.
She was loyalty itself.
She taught us the meaning of devotion.
With her, we knew secret comforts & private peace.
She brought us understanding where before we were ignorant.
Her head on our knees could heal our human hurts.
Her presence by our sides was protection against our fears of dark & unknown things.
She promised to wait for us...whenever...wherever - in case we need her,
& we expect we will - as we always have.
Who was She?
'Just Our Kaz'
Kazkiri Shaquille 'Shaq'
Oh My Handsome Man
How I Miss You
14 November 1999 - 11 December 2005
In my garden, beneath a gum tree, or a wattle, or any native shrub,
is an excellent place to bury such a good dog.
He played beneath such trees, & under such shrubs, he slept in the blazing summer sun,
or gnawed at a bone,
or lifted his great head to challenge a stranger.
Here he waited in calm & patient certainty of my return then exploded in the joyous exuberance of youth,
or much later, greeted me with the dignity of a Statesman.
These are good places in life or death.
For this dog will be remembered & when he leaps through my dreams,
actual as in life, eyes shining, laughing, begging, it doesn’t matter at all where he finally sleeps.
Whether it’s on a hill with the wind blowing through his coat, where the trees are soaring,
where he tirelessly chased & fetched sticks or other unidentifiable objects.
His spirit will be there beside me anyhow, whenever I walk along the bush tracks.
It doesn’t matter at all if I never, ever know that last resting place.
It is all one to the dog, & all one to me, & nothing is gained & nothing is lost – for memory lives.
But still there is one best place to bury a dog.
When I bury him in this spot he will come to me when I call – come to me over shadowy frontiers,
down that well remembered path & to my side again.
And though I call my living dogs to heel they won’t resent his coming for they know he belongs with me
& his gentle presence will surround them again.
People may laugh at me who see no lightest blade of grass bent by his returning footfall,
who hear no joyous greeting – people who may never have truly loved any dog.
I will be tolerant of them, smile at them & pity them a little,
for I know something that is hidden from them, & that is well worth knowing.
I will remember this, when a tear drops unbidden & my throat tightens as memories swirl around me:
'THE ONE BEST PLACE TO BURY A BELOVED DOG IS IN YOUR HEART'.
Kazkiri Babyface Nelson 'Nelson' 8 May 1999 - 15 July 2006
We have a secret you and I,
That no one else shall know.
For who, but I can see you lie,
Each night, in fire glow?
And who but I can reach my hand
Before we go to bed,
And feel the living warmth of you
And touch your silken head?
And only I walk woodland paths,
and see ahead of me,
Your form racing with the wind,
So young again, and free.
And only I can see you swim In every creek I pass.
And when I call, no one but I Can see the bending grass.
Goodbye, God Bless & God Speed, Sweet Man.
In memory of Kazkiri Chibale Charro 18 November 2005 - 23 November 2006 Result of accident
Why are you crying?
I am not there.
Look not for me by the favourite chair,
I am not there.
See me not at the bed's foot, nor at the door's step,
I am not there.
Do not look to the earth's cold hand, it could not hold me,
I am not there.
Look to the midnight star, a comet's flash,
Racing shadows in the field,
Sunlights dance on water's edge.
Hear me the rustle of the grass,
Pine bough's sigh,
The beat of bird's wings,
The rain's quiet tattoo.
Feel me in your heart, for it is there I cannot leave.
Wait for my loving kiss, my paw's soft touch at Rainbow Bridge.
I wil meet you there, and we shall once again be -
