Beau and Peep
She found the place to die
She wanted the end to be gentle
A cottage with waterfalls and rock pools
Quiet
Quaint
Magical
Away from the world
A dam at the end of the garden
In Poulaphouca
Irish for place of shape shifting fairies
I bought her a dog called Beau
Hesitant, not sure I like dogs
Fire lit
Dark storm outside
Her favourite soap to watch
A slight growl
Faint and low
We all heard it
Beau’s head jerked
Was that a dog
Dunno
She walked to the front door
A bloodied Jack Russel lay on the matt
Near death
We brought him in
She wrapped him in a blanket
The vet for us
Put him in the car
Be gentle
Off we went, storm howling
Fix him, she commanded
The vet shook his head
He’ll die tonight
The dog will live, she growled
Thousands to fix that dog
Still mightn’t live
Don’t care
Fix the dog
The weeks passed.
She spent each day at the vets with the dog
She smiled, I’m calling him Peep
Beau and Peep
In time I gave unruly, jumpy Beau to a farmer friend
Peep was her best friend
They went everywhere
He slept at the end of the bed
Never left her side
They loved each other
Annie and Peep
Annie died and that night Peep slowly walked down the wooden stairs
I lay on the bed, dark and late
He stood and looked and slowly turned and left
For two months not a tear did I shed
Then one bright summer’s day I felt good
Breakfast, bacon and sausage and eggs
To the shop
The sun was shining
Summer was beginning
Unbeknownst to me he followed
Back home and Peep lay on the driveway
Sick I thought
No
Peep was dead
And my dam burst
And my flood began
Annie and Peep
I remembered her words
Be gentle
I was
Hole dug
With gentle hands
Peep was buried
They both found the place to die
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