How to Write a Loving Tribute to Your Pet

Remembering Rover

English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning not only wrote sonnets to her husband, Robert, but she also penned a love poem to her pooch. The dog was a great comfort to Elizabeth, who was an invalid and housebound, and her poem "To Flush, My Dog" was a tribute to her beloved cocker spaniel.

My idea for creating a loving tribute to our pets through writing came to me one morning while I was drinking coffee at JJ's Sweet Shoppe in Dallas, Oregon. One of my favorite things, besides the vanilla cream donuts, is to eavesdrop on the old farmers who hang out there. They mainly talk about tractors, the weather, and why Japan is buying up all the hay. One day, though, one guy started talking about somebody named Fern. (I really perked up then because Fern is my mom's name).

At first I thought maybe Fern was his wife or something because he spoke about her in such a loving tone. I finally figured out Fern was his dog, though, when he started talking about picking ticks off her! As I kept on listening, the farmer joked about Fern watching All My Children with him everyday when they came in from the fields for lunch. Fern was a border collie who loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches and having her belly scratched.

Hearing the farmer talk about Fern made me realize how important dogs are in my own life. Some of my closest friends are canine! I have three dogs of my own -- including an 11-year-old yellow lab named Jessie. She's getting old with arthritis and I know someday I'm going to have to let her go. That big sweet dog has spent her entire life loving me with all her doggie heart. Writing is a way to create a lasting tribute to Jessie -- and I want to show other animal lovers how they can honor and remember their pets, too.

Getting Ready to Write Your Tribute:

I used to be a dog groomer years ago and kept my clippers and slicker brushes in a metallic green tool box. Since I have Wash and Wear dogs now (dogs that require no-fuss grooming) I don't open that old metal box much anymore. However, as a dog writer I keep my writing tool box well stocked.

My writing tool box (which is actually a plastic tote) includes: