The food was as I like it... cold, wet & in that wonderful tin can shape I had it marked in a paw print on the dog door the day that I finally planned my escape The milkman, he tried You can bet I wanted to survive but the truck it just came far too fast So I write on these scraps, my remembrances past, so you don't blame yourself that I've died They put horses out to pasture And the birds come home to roost Ain't nothin' for a puppy but the backyard on the loose Now I know my job was to lie idly beside The way the sun retreats for the moon I had dreams of walking the world on my own Four on the floor, every night all alone I was ready to work for the scruff on my neck Yearning to find something of my own to protect My bark, then, was surely bigger than my bite Chewing the cud could've been my biggest dog fight And you know how they say we only hear certain things that you say Well, it never mattered much to me but for the will of the way They put horses out to pasture And the birds come home to roost Ain't nothin' for a puppy but the backyard on the loose Now I know my job was to lie idly beside The way the sun retreats for the moon Now I loosen this collar for a dog bone bow tie To go up and meet the big dog in the sky I'll tell him when I get there I was spoiled in your place with the hopes that my spirit is honored by your grace So after you read this memoir one day Or after you hear my lonesome song play Don't you trouble your mind, this old hound's doin' fine You know, goodbyes are just words like a clock is to time So sorry I'm not with you So sorry I can't be Please know I was the best friend this old mutt could be If you remember that spot where my favorite tree grows I hung up my leash on a branch, now it's yours