Salute to Dante and Brady
In Christmas 2019 we met up with some close family friends for coffee and I chatted to sons without our friends knowing, and organised them to send photos over of the dogs as I had planned to do a carving of their pets, Dante/Brady. Sadly they both died within a short time of each other in 2019/20. Both were rescue greyhounds and had lovely gentle characters as well as a great background story to Brady who was found wandering abandoned on the A1 at Bradbury Services by our friend. They were both given a cosy warm home, but mostly they were a family pet and were loved.
Like a lot of folk, we have also had our share of family pets throughout our lives and when you lose one it is a major trauma, but to lose both in such a short time I felt for them and I was inspired to pen a poem based on Brady’s Story( some poetic licence is included).
Brady - The Lucky Greyhound
*I had been a winner, but my feet were sore unto the bone,
Now I was now due to retire, and all I wanted was a nice warm home, &
Not to sleep in a drafty outside kennel, but somewhere warm, with hearty food,
Somewhere free I could run, Only IF I was in the mood,
Somewhere with a big cosy bed, and a soft toy to pull apart,
Somewhere to rest my tired head, and give a family my heart,
But abandoned on the motorway was my fate, to wander all alone,
Until a blonde-haired lady stopped and took me to the dogs home,
At the dogs home in my kennel, Lots of folks would pass me by,
Until that day the nice blonde girl returned, And started giving me an encouraging eye,
They said my wait was over, I had found a nice new home,
With a place by a lovely warm fire, near trees and grassland to roam,
They had overlooked I was big, gangly and discarded baggage,
That I had never had a homely place to stay,
They said that they could manage
And then I was on my way,
To my surprise was an adopted brother, A sleek blonde hound called Dantee,
Its just as well these nice new folks, Had got 2 nice, big and cosy settees,
Dante had also been a winner And had had a friend called Jack,
Now we were brother and sister And would look after each others back,
Occasionally Dante was in the dog house,
I’m not sure which of my family would be most cross!!!!
With a glint of an eye, he would say ‘COULDNT be me, sir’!!!!!
And then theyd know I’M THE BOSS!!!!!!
And life was good and easy, With biscuits and good food to eat,
And when the big fellas not looking, I would jump up on his single-seat,
I had gotten all I wanted, A family and lots, lots more,
Tickles and rubs and pats on my head, Whilst my family would play with us, on the floor,
Christmas was a very special time,
With guests, pork sandwiches and lots of party food,
And if we hadn’t pinch our share it, whilst folk were busy chatting
It would have been very very rude,
Now, Im was feeling tired, And I rested quietly on the floor,
I lie peacefully with my family, My brothers not with me anymore,
We have all been very lucky, that we all have had had the chance,
To be a part of this loving family, together, all our lives we did enhance,
We have enjoyed a life together, And in caring for each other, we have been skilled,
And now my race was over, the mutual promise of love and care fulfilled.
By A King - In memory of a family pet
And so to the Carving of Dante a present to our friends… I had thought to do a carving of both Dante and Brady, but I found Brady’s ears to be difficult to carve as they sloped off at strange and weird angles and the wood I was using snapped after both attempts, as they thinned out to the tips. Without his ears in the right places, I felt it lacked his character had I have chosen to include the poem. Dante was carved out of a piece of lime and bleached to get the whited parts of his fur. The face markings and eyes were darkened using pyrography and it was finished with a clear acrylic spray. Dante rests on a Mahogany bed in a playful stance. Although he lived to a good age, I have given him back some of his youth.
Below is a gallery of the carving.
