[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 52 (Wednesday, May 1, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S3592]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EULOGY OF THE DOG

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I talked to my brother a couple of weeks 
ago. My brother is 22 months younger than I. We are very close. I talk 
to him as often as I can. He lives alone in rural Nevada.
  The last time I talked to my brother Larry he was very despondent. 
His dog had died--Smokey. The dog was almost a cartoon caricature, 
little short legs, a great big stomach. We used to make fun of my 
brother's dog, but he loved this dog. My brother was very emotional on 
the phone. He felt bad about his dog having died.
  We all know that yesterday Senator Byrd's dog Billy died. My 
brother's dog was Smokey. This caused me to reflect, of course, as we 
all do in our lives, on the past. My brother's dog was Smokey, and the 
dog I grew up with was Smokey, a wonderful dog, part Chow, a great dog. 
He was a great fighter and protector of us. He could appear very mean, 
but he wasn't mean at all. But he was somebody I grew up with in rural 
Nevada. He was a companion and a friend. I still remember him warmly, 
our dog Smokey.
  When I reflected on Senator Byrd yesterday, I remembered the speeches 
he gave on the floor where he talked about Billy Byrd, his dog. It was 
obvious he cared a great deal about his dog.
  Senator Byrd, on this floor, with the memory that he has--and I 
cannot match that--one day I heard him recite this on the Senate floor. 
It was April 23, 1990, and this comes from the Congressional Record. 
He, by memory, gave the ``Eulogy of the Dog'' by Senator George G. 
Vest.
  Senator Vest served in this body for 24 years. He is really not 
remembered for what he did in the Senate, but he is remembered for what 
he did as a lawyer, because George Vest represented a farmer whose dog 
named Drum was shot by another farmer. A lawsuit was filed against this 
man for having killed his dog Drum. George Vest is remembered for the 
closing statement that he gave to the jury regarding his dog.
  This is very short and I will read this into the Record. I cannot do 
it, as Senator Byrd did, from memory. In doing this, those of us who 
had animals, like my Smokey and my brother's Smokey and Senator Byrd's 
Billy Byrd, the little poodle he had, will reflect on really what good 
friends these dogs have been to us. So, again, I do this in memory of 
Billy Byrd, Senator Byrd's and Erma's friend. This was given to the 
jury on September 23, 1870. Mr. President, this speech is so memorable 
that, in 1958, the town of Warrensburg, MO, where the speech took 
place, erected a bronze statue to honor old Drum and the orator, George 
G. Vest:

       Gentlemen of the jury. The best friend a man has in the 
     world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or 
     daughter whom he has reared with loving care may prove 
     ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those 
     whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may 
     become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has he 
     may lose. It flies away from him perhaps when he needs it 
     most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of 
     ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on 
     their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the 
     first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its 
     cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend 
     that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never 
     deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or 
     treacherous, is the dog.
       Gentlemen of the jury, a man's dog stands by him in 
     prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will 
     sleep on the cold ground when the wintry winds blow and the 
     snow drives fiercely, if only he can be near his master's 
     side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he 
     will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with 
     the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper 
     master as if he were a prince.
       When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take 
     wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in 
     his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If 
     fortune drives the master forth an outcast into the world, 
     friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher 
     privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against 
     danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene 
     of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and 
     his body is laid in the cold ground, no matter if all other 
     friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the 
     noble dog be found, his head between his paws and his eyes 
     sad but open, in alert watchfulness, faithful and true, even 
     unto death.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming is recognized.

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