Surprises in a Cemetery

I attended a memorial graveside service for the mother of a church member yesterday. The deceased was a Catholic so a priest officiated. I was interested in how he sprinkled a crucifix with holy water and gave it to Marjorie, her daughter. I was more interested in a small blond puppy, a stray, who had decided to attend the service also. He came across the cemetery and wandered around the attendees, looking for someone to pet him, as if he'd come to offer consolation. Animals do that sometimes. I remember a difficult death in my own family where a kitten showed up from out of the blue. She stayed on the porch of our house the whole time the family was there. This blond puppy seemed to be doing the same thing. He looked like part Chihuahua, part fox terrier, and part Labrador retriever, from which he got his blond color. He lay down next to the casket before the service and several children patted and fussed over him. He was completely at ease with that. I decided that after the service I would take him home and adopt him. That's the story of how I got Luis. I named him that because he seems not to understand commands like Sit, Heel, Stay, and Hey Not On The Carpet. I have decided that the reason is because Luis is a recent Mexican immigrant and speaks no English. But by golly he's going to learn some! I have my work cut out for me.

When the service was over and Luis had run out of people to greet, he found a spot nearby and started to dig. One old man with a lazy drawl commented, "Maaaybe he's looookin' for a bone."