PEPPER DIED

The Last Will & Testament of an Extremely Loved Dog

I, Silverdene Emblem O'Neill (familiarly known to my
family, friends, acquaintances as Blemie),
because the burden of my years and infirmities is
heavy upon me, and I realize the end of my life is near,
do hereby bury my last will and testament in the mind
of my Master. He will not know it is there until after I am dead.
Then, remembering me in his loneliness, he will
suddenly know of this testament, and I ask him to
inscribe it as a memorial to me.

I have little in the way of material things to leave.
Dogs are wiser than men. They do not set great store upon things.
They do not waste their days hoarding property.
They do not ruin their sleep worrying about how to
keep the objects they have, and to obtain objects they
have not. There is nothing of value I have to bequeath
except my love and my loyalty.

These I leave to all those who have loved me, especially to my
Master and Mistress, who I know will mourn me the most.

I ask my Master and my Mistress to remember me always,
but not to grieve for me too long. In my life,
I have tried to be a comfort to them in time
of sorrow, and a reason for added joy in their happiness.
It is painful for me to think that even in death
I should cause them pain.

Let them remember that while no dog has ever had
a happier life (and this I owe to their love
and care for me), now that I have grown blind and deaf and
lame, and even my sense of smell fails me so that a rabbit
could be right under my nose and I might not know,
my pride has sunk to a sick, bewildered humiliation.
I feel life is taunting me with having overlingered my
welcome. It is time I said good-bye, before I become
too sick a burden on myself and on those who love me.
It will be a sorrow to leave them, but not a sorrow to
die. Dogs do not fear death as men do. We accept it
as part of life, not as something alien and terrible
which destroys life. What may come after death, who knows?
I would like to believe that there is a Paradise. Where
one is always young and full-bladdered. Where all the day
one dillies and dallies. Where each blissful hour is mealtime.
Where in the long evenings there are a million fireplaces with logs
forever burning, and one curls oneself up and blinks into the flames
and nods and dreams, remembering the old brave days on earth
and the love of one's Master and Mistress.

I am afraid that this is too much for even such a dog as
I am to expect. But peace, at least, is certain. Peace
and a long rest for my weary old heart and head and limbs,
and eternal sleep in the earth I have loved so well.
Perhaps, after all, this is best.

One last request, I earnestly make. I have heard my
Mistress say,"When Blemie dies we must never have another dog.
I love him so much I could never love another one".
Now I would ask her, for love of me, to have
another. It would be a poor tribute to my memory never
to have a dog again.What I would like to feel is that,
having once had me in the family, she cannot live without a dog!
I have never had a narrow, jealous spirit. I have always
held that most dogs are good. My successor can hardly
be as well loved or as well mannered or as distinguished
and handsome as I was in my prime. My Master and
Mistress must not ask the impossible. But he will do his best,
I am sure, and even his inevitable defects will help
by comparison to keep my memory green.

To him I bequeath my collar and leash and my overcoat
and raincoat He can never wear them with the distinction
I did, all eyes fixed on me in admiration; but again
I am sure he will do his utmost not to appear a
mere gauche provincial dog. I hereby wish him the
happiness I know will be his in my old home. One last word
of farewell, dear Master and Mistress.
Whenever you visit my grave, say to yourselves with
regret but also with happiness in your hearts
at the remembrance of my long, happy life with you:
"Here lies one who loved us and whom we loved". No
matter how deep my sleep. I shall hear you and not
all the power of death can keep my spirit from
wagging a grateful tail.
I will always love you as only a dog can."

by Eugene O'Neill 1940