En smakebit på søndag - Dog Stories

Det har inte varit någon vidare läsvecka för mig, så jag läser fortfarande Far from You, som var min smakbit förra veckan. 

Därför kommer veckans smakbit istället från en av mina gamla favoriter, nämligen James Herriot’s Dog Stories. James Herriot arbetade som veterinär i Yorkshire under en stor del av 1900-talet, och skrev många böcker om sina fyrfota patienter. Tv-serien I vår Herres hage är även baserad på hans berättelser. 

I Dog Stories berättar han om femtio olika hundar som han träffat på genom åren. Smakbiten kommer från det mycket sorgliga kapitlet Have a Cigar.

The old man looked bewildered and his lips trembled. “Then he’s going to die?"

I swallowed hard. “We really can’t just leave him to die, can we? He’s in some distress now, but it will soon be an awful lot worse. Don’t you think it would be kinder to put him to sleep? After all, he’s had a good, long innings.” I always aimed at a brisk, matter-of-fact approach, but the old clichés had an empty ring.

The old man was silent, then he said, “Just a minute,” and slowly and painfully knelt down by the side of the dog. He did not speak, but ran his hand again and again over the grey muzzle and the ears, while the tail thump, thump, thumped on the floor

He knelt there a long time while I stood in the cheerless room, my eyes taking in the faded pictures on the walls, the frayed, grimy curtains, the broken-springed armchair.

At length the old man struggled to his feet and gulped once or twice. Without looking at me, he said, huskily, “All right, will you do it now?”