Hi Bill,

Yes, you've got good points...it needs reworking, without so much fidelity to the real story. I'll work on that! Thanks for your comments!

Back to the story, though, just as an fyi to answer some of your questions...this happened over about a six-month span of time, during the warm months. This is a very rural area, and the guy who owned the dog had moved five minutes away, and Walker kept wanting to go back to his kennel at Plum Creek. So, the guy let him do it, Joe let him do it, and the friendship between Joe and the dog grew. Yes, if Walker had had no options and it got to be cold...he would have taken steps. To further complicate things...Joe had a rescue dog at his home who wouldn't tolerate other dogs.

Regarding dogs committing suicide....I didn't think of it as a suicide. I've heard that dogs often go to a favorite spot to die, and Walker's favorite spot was the little lake at Plum Creek, and he'd often go swimming there. I believe that Walker knew he was dying at that time, and wanted to die in his favorite spot. (Joe thought he was just going for another swim, and he jumped in when he saw Walker going under...but Walker was already gone. I don't think he even drowned because Joe was there quick enough -- I think his heart just gave out.)

But...that's not part of the song....

Thanks for your helpful take on this!

Lisa

P.S. That's also a good point about the dog walker -- that hadn't occurred to me -- lol!