No bird soars too high
If it soars with it's
Own wings.
William Blake

This is a more subtle task than one might at first imagine.

Chester died at 3.00 am Pacific Time. The vet said the underlying cause of death was a slow growing brain tumor.

Abba and her person, a regular blog reader, came to the service and sat in the front row. Abba is fast finding a 'dog of the blog' spot.

This morning there was a funeral for Chester to which local congregation and their dogs were invited as well as monks and their dog friends. All went smoothly, no doggy upsets, and Chester now rests in the animal cemetery.

At the end of the burial the monk who has looked after Chester for so many years spoke of how many people loved this dog and he had shown love to many. The lesson we need to learn from Chester, he said, is to love as he did. By that I took him to mean to love unconditionally.