One of the dogs that helped to inspire King Harald was Gus, a big ol’ Chesapeake that lived on my brother-in-law’s farm. After he died, back around 2000, his master got himself a little puppy who was temporarily, then permanently, named Puppy.

We last saw Puppy about a month ago, still tottering over to greet us on our arrival. Puppy always had to say hello and loved following us around the farmstead. He was always good tempered, even amid the invasion of cats that descended on the place a few years ago. They kicked him out of his warm spot in an old chicken house, but he still tolerated them. There was one unfortunate incident with a feline, but we won’t discuss that here.

Anyway, we just heard that Puppy passed on a couple of weeks ago.

So, here’s to Puppy and all the fun we had with him! Thanks for the memories, you sweet ol’ pooch.