Man hired me to drive his school busses
Later gave me one of his new pups
Named him Amos
Took him to Tennessee near Oak Ridge when we moved there
He loved to hunt mice in the field nearby
Some mice did die, but only from being over-played with
Amos was free and loose and always ran happy
He was never a mean dog
A German Shepherd but no police dog in him
We moved to Kentucky and lived where there were farms all around
Amos was happy and did fine most of the time, except
One day neighbors told me he’d been chasing their cattle
Which you can’t have and be a neighbor around those parts
Everybody knew everything about everyone there
They said I had to tie the dog up to keep him from chasing cattle
They had serious farmer faces, those men
I couldn’t bear the thought of tying Amos up, not him
I was young and stubborn then
I was sullen and hurt and not exactly rational about it
The day was calm and sunny
Amos was ready for adventure as always
I drove him up the road and then down a certain lane
A lane where people dumped things they had to get rid of
A quiet, sad place with no one at all around
We walked into the woods a little way, him in front
Happy and carefree as always
Thinking those cattle had as much fun as he did
Him behind them running and barking
Me behind him with my pistol
My pistol down behind his head
Him shot and lying dead
Never knowing a thing about it
Me knowing all too much about it
Tears hot and running down my cheeks
Dropping on the silent leaves
I never wanted to go back there
But have a thousand times
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You made me cry. So sad! Feel your pain, even yet. Dee