"Time for Bed!"

Max went out into the garden last night, then settled down for the night.

At 6am I got up to let Wilma and Bess out, Max was lying in the same place.

At 7.30 I got up when Jon had gone to work.
Max was in the same place..he refused his chicken.

He had had enough.

I phoned Jon and we knew it was right to phone the vet.
The vet was out on the Moors, out of range but would come to us for 10.30.

max moved to the hall and lay down.
I sat with him and talked to him.

I picked up a poetry book, "A Poem a Day"
I came across this...

Prospice
by Robert Browning.

Fear death?--to feel the fog in my throat,
The mist in my face,
When the snows begin, and the blasts denote
I am nearing the place,
The power of the night, the press of the storm,
The post of the foe;
Where he stands, the Arch Fear in a visible form;
Yet the strong man must go:
For the journey is done and the summit attained,
And the barriers fall,
Though a battle's to fight ere the guerdon be gained,
The reward of it all.
I was ever a fighter, so--one fight more,
The best and the last!
I would hate that Death bandaged my eyes, and forbore,
And made me creep past.
No! let me taste the whole of it, fare like my peers,
The heroes of old,
Bear the brunt, in a minute pay glad life's arrears
Of pain, darkness and cold.
For sudden the worst turns the best to the brave.
The black minute's at end,
And the elements' rage, the fiend voices that rave,
Shall dwindle, shall blend,
Shall change, shall become first a peace out of pain.
Then a light, then thy breast,
O thou soul of my soul! I shall clasp thee again,
And with God be the rest!

I sat with Max and read the poem with him.
The vet arrived and helped Max get ready for bed.

I have the photographs and the fantastic memories.

He was a loved dog, I am so happy he had such a happy life!

Rest in Peace? No Max, run along the lanes and swim in the seas!