"SENDING UP A FRIEND" Hello out there? With this cold stone in my throat I need to tell you I am sending someone special up. Please be there to meet her; she doesn't like to be alone. Hello? I'm sending you my best friend. Her bones were too old to keep by my side. And now it's so quiet...her blanket is empty, her dish is dry. Listen up out there! You need to know what you're getting; You're getting the best. When you get blue, she will come to lie at your bed. Oh, and if she farts horrible, choking fumes, don't scold too harshly; Her eyes will tell you she's sorry. A warning: If she eats your whole pizza when you turn your back, Apologies! She forgot it was yours... Hello there? I am sending up my comrade. Please be good to my girl. Give her a rawhide bone. She's soft and I love her and I am sad. Please scratch her belly for me, and I will think of it when my hands crave the touch of black fur. -For Nora, my black lab who was put to sleep 9/2/99