Farewell Miko…
May 29, 2006
In the history of relationships between men and dogs, there are many testimonies regarding the pain that one goes through when the other one dies. Poets have written an essay or poem in the memory of their dogs. One of the nicest poems is written by Pablo Neruda, the great Chilean poet.
A Dog Has Died
By Pablo Neruda
My dog has died.
I buried him in the garden
next to a rusted old machine.
Some day I'll join him right there,
but now he's gone with his shaggy coat,
his bad manners and his cold nose,
and I, the materialist, who never believed
in any promised heaven in the sky
for any human being,
I believe in a heaven I'll never enter.
Yes, I believe in a heaven for all dogdom
where my dog waits for my arrival
waving his fan-like tail in friendship.
Ai, I'll not speak of sadness here on earth,
of having lost a companion
who was never servile.
His friendship for me, like that of a porcupine
withholding its authority,
was the friendship of a star, aloof,
with no more intimacy than was called for,
with no exaggerations:
he never climbed all over my clothes
filling me full of his hair or his mange,
he never rubbed up against my knee
like other dogs obsessed with sex.
No, my dog used to gaze at me,
paying me the attention I need,
the attention required
to make a vain person like me understand
that, being a dog, he was wasting time,
but, with those eyes so much purer than mine,
he'd keep on gazing at me
with a look that reserved for me alone
all his sweet and shaggy life,
always near me, never troubling me,
and asking nothing.
Ai, how many times have I envied his tail
as we walked together on the shores of the sea
in the lonely winter of Isla Negra
where the wintering birds filled the sky
and my hairy dog was jumping about
full of the voltage of the sea's movement:
my wandering dog, sniffing away
with his golden tail held high,
face to face with the ocean's spray.
Joyful, joyful, joyful,
as only dogs know how to be happy
with only the autonomy
of their shameless spirit.
There are no good-byes for my dog who has died,
and we don't now and never did lie to each other.
So now he's gone and I buried him,
and that's all there is to it.
I said goodbye to Miko last weekend. A very painful experience for me.
Miko, wherever you are, thank you for everything! You will always be the most beautiful pomeranian…
Previous Comments
sorry about your dog.he's such a cute doggie and w/ a personality to match i presume by your pain.as i always say on times like these…time heals..
Posted by raine at May 29, 2006, 5:51 pmmy condolences.
Posted by mischarmed at May 29, 2006, 5:57 pmThank you Ghe, Raine and Mischarmed. I appreciate it. Perhaps, ten shots of kamikaze and a bottle of chilean wine will help me heal faster…
Posted by planetalvin at May 29, 2006, 6:02 pmawww… you really loved you dog. now that you mentioned it… I suddenly remebered our cats who died and tintoy.. our cutest dog ever(one of the very few… out of 4 i think) who apparenty died too.
Posted by arvin at May 29, 2006, 6:29 pmsorry for your loss. 
i must be the complete opposite of you - i hate dogs. i act like a retard when one gets near me.
Posted by benj at May 29, 2006, 9:19 pmI felt the same thing when our female labrador was stolen. My dumbass brother dozed off and left the door open. I felt furious when I learned about what happened. And it wasnt even my dog! It was his btw.
Posted by steel at May 30, 2006, 4:52 ami am really sorry about the dog alvin… hope u get over the dog soon. mwah!
Posted by /iambrew at May 30, 2006, 8:06 pmawww…sorry bout the dog..
your dog is soo cute. parang teddy bear sya kung tutuusin. huggable at mukhang malinis.
dogs are man's best friend.
sorry about the dog.. but smile. there's so many dogs waiting for your love and care! HAHA.
Posted by kevin at June 1, 2006, 12:42 pmgeee! when my dog Chips died (she was 10 yrs old), i had Pablo Neruda's poem" A dog has died "dedicated to her on my blog. awww.. i feel you. =< . sorry for your loss. naakakaiyak =,( ang cute cute pa naman nang dog mo.
Posted by dora at June 4, 2006, 2:47 pmwaaa… huhu.. wawa nmn… dedo ndn aso ko eh. hahaha!
Posted by jami at June 5, 2006, 10:09 pmHey! sorry di ako nakadaan dito…nung nagpasalamat ka!!! Naku pare ang kyut pala nyang si miko!! hehe condolence ulit sorry talaga dude…
Posted by ron at June 6, 2006, 2:20 ami feel bad that you lost miko. ang cute pa naman niya. but dont be sad if his life has ended but rather be thankul that you he spent his life with you.
Posted by Ymir at July 18, 2006, 11:10 amso sorry to hear about your pom…
in commiseration, i’m leaving you this epitaph that lord byron wrote about his beloved dog Boatswain (a newfie):
Near this spot
Are deposited the remains of one
Who possessed beauty without vanity,
Strength without insolence,
Courage without ferocity,
And all the virtues of Man without his vices
This Praise, which would be unmeaning flattery
If inscribed over human ashes,
Is but a just tribute to … a Dog
I am sorry to hear about your dog. My family recently lost a 4-month old labrador retriever. It’s just a wonder how a wonderful and loyal companion a dog can be. Even for a very short period of time, he was able to make us laugh and make us feel that he needs us, his family. I hope you’ll find another one whom you can shower all your love. We, too, are looking forward to that day when we can have another one to be part of our family.
Posted by Joy Camero at June 26, 2007, 3:55 pm
Jeez Alvin, Miko's story has finally come to an end. Ive been reading about him and Im saddened by the incident.
My other dog Jopay passed away last March but good thing she had already gave birth to other 9 pitbulls before she died.She is really missed.
Posted by ghe at May 29, 2006, 4:44 pm