Giant under the Oak Tree

He's Lumbering, shaking the soil of the earth beneath his paws, making his way over to his favorite Oak tree, a loyal friend throughout the years. But he is breathing heavier than he used to, he's not as fast in these advanced years, and his head is weighed down more than usual, and the walk is taking much longer than he remembers it taking him. Even though the sun felt just as nice on his back he could feel it in his bones that today is different. Nowadays his legs weren't what they used to be, and his size didn't make it any easier to carry himself. "Giant" the Chesapeake Retriever soon found himself in good company with his spot, indented in the ground, and right under the shade and protection of the tree trunk. If that Oak could talk, it would have many stories to share about Giant. Broadus was a giant farmer, so he took a liking to the Chesapeake kind after the war. Giant panted has he looked out on the fields, he saw in the distance the neighborhood boys. The Jenkins and Mccreedy boys always came around back in the days during their walk back from school. This is because the farmer, Broadus, wasn't selling to main distributing companies he made a pretty good business off of the "pick your own" model but he knew they usually came to just play, and only sometimes they had money to come pick. Each time the boys would get caught it would always be Giant that caught them, he could sniff out a tick on fur coat. So if you tried to sneak an apple, a peach, or a handful of berries, no matter where you hid them, there stood Giant, always faithful, always there at the end of the gate to catch you. The older boys in the neighborhood would make an effort to warn the younger that it was "it's all fun and games, until Giant comes out to play". Giant took his job seriously, and with pride. The boys marveled how he could never be wrong, and so they would sometimes just want him to come and play so they would draw him making him think they were trying to take produce when his owner wasn't looking. Eventually even the farmer caught on to this little game they had with Giant. One time the boys had tried to take a whole basket, they tossed it back and forth like a football and Giant would intercept them just as they would be at the gate. Another time they tried sneaking with their pockets or with big coats filled to the brim with berries, but Giant couldn't fooled. He knew even one berry was left at the very bottom. He could jump out and take their hats off revealing the the different fruits, they would laugh in reply and say "You're too smart and too quick for us Giant"! Farmer Broadus never suffered great loss, because of this stubborn but insightful hound. Maybe an apple or peach now and again, or a handful of berries, maybe just a few now and again as the boys would run off hoping over the fence. While the farmer had to scold them a time or two, most of the time it was Giant who had accidentally eaten them in the heat of the moment during a chase, however Broadus knew that his faithful companion always meant to do well. He knew all he could do was cherish him for as long as he was able. So he saw this as a small cost of protecting the rest of his fields. There was a greater price to pay for this, one all beings on earth must accept, mortality. That's why today would be different, the farmer knew as looked towards where Giant was walking, he could see it now, and he could sense it in his bones too. Something you form with a bond only after many years together with a friend. The poor hound whimpered a bit as he lumbered over finally coming to rest in his favorite shade spot, he's not as spry as he was in those years of defending the fields so to speak. The farmer, with compassion in his eyes, and a sort of softness in them that nearly overwhelmed him, he simply walked over to then be sat down by Giant. He pulled him up on to his lap with his arm around him and comforted his dear old friend for one last time. "Good boy, your job is done, and you've done so well", he said in a soft and broken voice. Now all the young men had gathered for one last time with their old friend, they each laid an apple, a peach, and a couple berries at his side. Giant smiled as he looked up at them, as they all said, "Well you caught us again Giant, you're too smart for us!" Giant laid his head back in the farmer's lap, drifting back to sleep. The boys left in silence after saying goodbye to the kind farmer. As they walked off, the eldest of them broke the silence and said "Well, it was all fun and games, but now Giant can't come out and play." After awhile, Broadus sat up, he went to uncover the grave he had prepared. He gingerly picked up his friend, kissing his forehead, and brought him to his final resting place, just a few feet away, still under the massive old Oak. He placed him down on the blanket and took care to bury it well. All while doing this the boys looked on behind one of the orchard trees. They could hear him singing "Aude Laud Syne" but it was more so a faint whispering, simply carried by the wind as it rustled the branches, the leaves dancing around him. A cross was placed on the grave, "Here lies, a guard dog, but more importantly, a best friend, a friend to all, here lies Giant, with the like heart to prove it. May the skies over the Chesapeake embrace him."