Remembering a Lifetime of Pets

I have recently been thinking about all the pets I have had since childhood. Reminiscence can be difficult and it is easy to become maudlin. Perhaps the most colourful pet I had was Alan - he was the one chick that became more than just a chicken. He was the strutting cockerel who would direct the hens to food. That made him popular with the girls. One day, I saw him facing off a fox, standing between it and his hens. Sadly, he was killed by the fox a few months later, right in front of my eyes on . . . my birthday! I was very sad.

Fox Terriers in Funeral Tableau

It has to be said, but sometimes the Victorian and Edwardian attitude to Death was pretty distasteful - by today's standards I guess. Johnny Watson toured the country at the turn of the last century with his troupe of Fox terriers. What strikes me as distinctly odd is that the deceased terrier is lying on the ground next to the funeral bier and that next to him is the grieving widow - another terrier dressing in black mourning clothes! Some may find this funny, but it makes me uneasy. What do others think?

The reverse of the postcard records the following publicity statement:
"Watson's Fox Terriers
(Everybody's Favourites)
Who Through 'Dogged' Determination and Perseverence
Have Become A 'Howling' Success Everywhere.

Presented by
Johnny Watson
(Born Newcastle-on-Tyne, February 7th, 1844.)