Best of Friends

He was to be for my daddy, they'd said as they scooped him up from the pick up bed He was speckled & flop eared & soft as a sigh My Daddy knew he had lost by the look in my eye With his masked bandit eyes, only one name seemed right Thus, Ringo, was christened that long ago April night Part wolf, part samoyed, part collie & aussie He would herd anything from small kids to old Bossy Every morning he'd walk me to the school yard gate Every afternoon he'd return & patiently wait When I graduated from high school in June of ‘82 I argued with the principal that he deserved a diploma, too Wherever I wandered he was close at my side Through my childhood years, we roamed far & wide We hiked every inch of the old Hilton Spread & the Total Wreck, as well I knew to bring him in with me, when my daddy would start to yell He moved quick & shadow silent & hardly ever made a sound But just say the word "Ranch" & watch him come unwound He loved to chase the rabbits & running with the 'yotes Its to his credit that some coyote pups had speckled coats I learned to trust his instinct when the fellers started to call Why, when his hackles started rising, I knew to end it all He'd step in between us & stare them down to size Yep, if Ringo didn't like you, there would be no compromise He's gone on across the Rainbow bridge where all good dogs abide But he'll be waiting at Heaven's Gate, to fall in at my side He taught me loyalty & trust, & that love never ends For sixteen years, through thick & thin, We were the best of friends