OLD
SHEMP
By
Michael
Edwin Q.
Eighty-two years old Chester
Woodlot farmed the land all his life, as did his father and his father’s
father. He never married. Seldom did he have human contact. His only friends
were his animals. There was Champion the horse, Annie the mule, Molly the cat,
and his two dogs, Jasper and Old Shemp.
It was a rainy night, full of
gloom. There was a knock at the door of Chester’s
humble farmhouse. He opened the door. A wet young man stood in the doorway,
holding a black leather satchel.
“Thanks for coming out on such
short notice, Doc, and on such a bad night. Come on in,” Chester said, taking the Doctor’s coat and
hat.
Doc Henry Buckner was the new County Veterinarian.
Chester guided
him into the living room where a warm fire blazed in the fireplace.
“Let me tell, ya, Doc,” Chester said sadly. “Old
Shemp has been a great dog, and I love him. But he’s old and full of arthritis;
he hurts day and night. He can’t eat and he can’t sleep. I hate to do this; but
it’s time to put him down. If you don’t mind, I’d rather not stick around and
watch.”
“I understand,” Doc said as Chester left the room.
The veterinarian turned to the dog
lying in front of the fireplace – the flames the only light. He knelt down
beside the dog and took a syringe from his satchel.
“There, there, Old Shemp, just a
quick, little pinprick and there’ll be no more pain.”
The dog moaned only slightly.
There was a sound behind him; Doc turned to see Chester standing in the doorway holding a dog
in his arms.
“Well, here he is, Doc, Old
Shemp.”
THE
END
Don't forget I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS by Michael Edwin Q.
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