I still see you working Benny Nose low along the row A package on a loading table Held something no one else would know The postal inspector watched you As you caught that hidden trail Then you sat there proud beside it One more truth inside the mail I remember one hard night When the fight came fast and close A bad man trying to take me down With no time left to compose Then you came like rolling thunder Brave heart in a coat of fur You pulled that danger off me boy And the whole world changed right there Oh Benny my partner My steady friend I thought we’d have more Road ahead in the end Eight short years But a lifetime remains In the old patrol routes And the forest rains Your leash hangs still But your memory stays In the work we did And the better days There’s a hole in my heart That time cannot mend I miss you Benny my partner My friend A little girl was lost one day Seven years old and scared Somewhere deep beyond the timber With darkness in the air I gave you something she had touched You caught the scent and led Through the brush and over broken ground Till we found that child instead But after every hard call ended You knew how to leave it all behind Chasing squirrels through the forest With that wild look in your eyes Ears up high and tail held proud Running free beneath the trees For a while you weren’t a K9 You were just Benny full of peace Then 2016 came too quickly And the news stole all our breath Cancer came without a warning And it carried you to rest You were only nine years old boy Too soon to say goodbye One day you were still beside me Then I had to let you fly Oh Benny my partner My steady friend I still look for you Around every bend You found the poison You stood in the fight You brought that lost Little girl into light You gave me your courage Your trust your best Then left paw prints Deep inside my chest There’s a hole in my heart That time cannot mend I miss you Benny my partner My friend So run through the woods Where the squirrels never hide With the sun on your back And the sky open wide And when my own watch Is finally through I’ll look down that trail Old friend And I’ll find you Benny - End of Watch 4/11/2016
