Old dog Beau! The dog poem that made Johnny Carson cry Jimmy Stewart (left) reads his poem about his dog, Beau, on The Tonight Show in 1981. (Photo: johnnycarson/YouTube) Back in 1981, legendary actor James “Jimmy” Stewart, the star of “Its a Wonderful Life” and too many other classics to list here, went on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” to share his hobby: poetry. The piece that he read was titled I’ll Never Forget a Dog Named Beau about Stewart’s golden retriever. At first, the poem made Johnny and the audience laugh, but it had a very different effect in the end. Describing it can’t do it justice; it’s something you have to see — and feel — for yourself, so check out the video and read the text below. Here’s the text of the poem: He never came to me when I would call Unless I had a tennis ball, Or he felt like it, But mostly he didnt come at all. When he was young He never learned to heel Or sit or stay, He did things his way. Discipline was not his bag But when you were with him things sure didnt drag. Hed dig up a rosebush just to spite me, And when Id grab him, hed turn and bite me. He bit lots of folks from day to day, The delivery boy was his favorite prey. The gas man wouldnt read our meter, He said we owned a real man-eater. He set the house on fire But the storys long to tell. Suffice it to say that he survived And the house survived as well. On the evening walks, and Gloria took him, He was always first out the door. The Old One and I brought up the rear Because our bones were sore. He would charge up the street with Mom hanging on, What a beautiful pair they were! And if it was still light and the tourists were out, They created a bit of a stir. But every once in a while, he would stop in his tracks And with a frown on his face look around. It was just to make sure that the Old One was there And would follow him where he was bound. We are early-to-bedders at our house -- I guess Im the first to retire. And as Id leave the room hed look at me And get up from his place by the fire. He knew where the tennis balls were upstairs, And Id give him one for a while. He would push it under the bed with his nose And Id fish it out with a smile. And before very long Hed tire of the ball And be asleep in his corner In no time at all. And there were nights when Id feel him Climb upon our bed And lie between us, And Id pat his head. And there were nights when Id feel this stare And Id wake up and hed be sitting there And I reach out my hand and stroke his hair. And sometimes Id feel him sigh and I think I know the reason why. He would wake up at night And he would have this fear Of the dark, of life, of lots of things, And hed be glad to have me near. And now hes dead. And there are nights when I think I feel him Climb upon our bed and lie between us, And I pat his head. And there are nights when I think I feel that stare And I reach out my hand to stroke his hair, But hes not there. Oh, how I wish that wasnt so, Ill always love a dog named Beau. A book titled “Why We Love the Dogs We Do: How to Find the Dog That Matches Your Personality” published in 2000 contains some information on what happened to Beau, Stewart’s beloved dog. Sadly, the poem isn’t fiction. Wikipedia summarizes it: “While shooting a movie in Arizona, Stewart received a phone call from Dr. Keagy, his veterinarian, who informed him that Beau was terminally ill, and that Gloria sought his permission to perform euthanasia. Stewart declined to give a reply over the phone, and told Keagy to ‘keep him alive and Ill be there.’ Stewart requested several days leave, which allowed him to spend some time with Beau before granting the doctor permission to euthanize the sick dog. Following the procedure, Stewart sat in his car for ten minutes to clear his eyes of tears. Stewart later remembered: ‘After [Beau] died there were a lot of nights when I was certain that I could feel him get into bed beside me and I would reach out and pat his head. The feeling was so real that I wrote a poem about it and how much it hurt to realize that he wasn’t going to be there any more.’” I’m sure all you dog lovers out there know exactly how that must have felt. Hat tip to the Reddit community for unearthing this gem! Related on MNN: 7 incredibly loyal dogs The truth about cat people and dog people 12 commands every dog should know
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 04:13:53 +0000
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