THE TRANSDENDER DOG. By Bryn Fortey

When Suzy, my last cat, died

I swore there would be

No more pets

I had inherited her from my son

When nobody else

Offered her a home

But my advancing years

Made it seem unfair

When a new pet

Would probably outlive me

My wife was very much an animal-lover

But with a strong preference for cats

So it had been 50+ years

Since I’d lost my last dog, Vicky

A German shepherd who had been

Both friend and pet during

All my teenage years, and more

“You know you’d love another dog, dad.”

My daughter can be very insistent

And planned her campaign well

Pointing out that in the case of my demise

She would take over full responsibility 

Since it would be a shared pet from the start 

Why she went for a Shar Pei pup I don’t know

A little wrinkled boy she named Caesar

And he was absolutely wonderful

Chewing every chair leg he could reach

And crying pitifully if left alone

But loving his human family with a passion

Then our little boy dog

Came into season

Though sold as a male

It turned out Caesar was really Cleo all the time

Which makes no difference to us or her

Bryn Fortey is a veteran writer from Wales in the UK. Widely published

over the years, he has had two collections published by The Alchemy 

Press, both featuring a mix of short stories and poetry. He is grateful that

in old age he is still able to put pen to paper and finger to keyboard.