Ol' Blue

One eye was brown, the other blue, Australian Shepard his breed- a workin' dog with one heck of a nip to the heels a cattle an' steed. Just a little fur ball when I got him, but I well remember the time, he could out run 'n outsmart the lot, an' make 'em all turn on a dime. Those cold prairie nights, sleepin' under the stars, that dog would warm my ol' bones, I'd play my mouth-harp to settle the herd while he sang in soft muffled tones. Last winter there came a fierce blizzard, we were caught in a mighty snowdrift. Ol' Blue hunkered down, an' just held his ground, saved us both from descendin' a cliff. They talk about loyal in people, an' I reckon there are quite a few, but I trusted my life, even more than a wife, to that mangy ol' dog name of Blue. His muzzle fin'lly was grayin', an' his gate turned to limpin' 'n slow, but no matter the job I was doin', he'd follow wherever I'd go. One mornin', I rose from my dreamin' but Ol' Blue just didn't get up; I saw in his bed that slumberin' head, an' thought sure he resembled a pup. Now, cryin' just ain't in my nature, nor whinin' 'bout things I can't change, but I gotta confess, my heart broke at best, an' was sad 'n plenty deranged. I laid him to rest on the prairie for the coyotes to sing him a song, 'cause no dog was quite so deservin' to live on this Earth for so long. An' if there's a Heaven for doggies, I'm sure that's where Blue is today- waggin' his tail, an' just proud as hell of the work that he done without pay.