The Sweetest Thing

My brother brought this video to my attention today and I just wanted to share it with everyone. James Stewart was a wonderful actor and one of the loveliest men of his era, to me anyway, and this is something really special to me.

The poetry's not fantastic, but if you've ever had a dog before, you'll understand it perfectly with your heart. I was reduced to helpless tears after listening to it, mostly because it is so real to me.

I can never completely express my feelings about Chip (not least to people who don't understand what it is to love an animal), but Jimmy captures the sentiment perfectly.

Only, in my case, I am the one who shoots suddenly awake in the dark, reaching for the furry little hill beside me, feeling for the familiar rise and fall of his ribs in the night, fearing in a deep recess of my heart for the day that it will stop.