Saying Goodbye to the Winery Dog

It was a brisk day in December. Half of the winery crew was out volunteering at local community charities for the holidays, a few of us remained at homebase to bid fairwell to an old friend. The good old boy was a part of the winery for almost 16 years. A big cheerful guy, who even when in pain at the end, still managed to wag his tail and make sure everybody else around him was happy. After we said our goodbyes, a caravan of vehicles, company and personal, made their way up into the hills overlooking fields of trees and vineyards. Here we laid our old friend to rest under a huge oak tree, next to several other dear old friends. There was not a dry eye in the house as 16 of us said our words of fairwell and shed tears of sorrow at having lost, and tears of joy at having been privileged to know him. A dog's life is never long enough for those that love them, but they are full of joy and a carefree selflessness that we humans will never know.