Joe’s Dog by Tony Fallon© 10/5/2016

Joe’s Dog by Tony Fallon© 10/5/2016 

When I was growing up in the country I had no hunting knife
In my time in Ireland there wasn’t very much wildlife
If you wanted to see something other than a cow or ewe
You’d have to go to Dublin and visit their famous zoo
Of course, there were fish in the river and you’d also see a frog.
Our neighbor had a half-breed cur, but someone shot that dog.

We had an odd badger and weasel which some people called a stoat

There were some hedgehogs and many a donkey and many a goat

Some people kept a couple of hounds to go out coursing the hare.
There were no deer in our parish and there definitely wasn’t a bear
The major topic of conversation that year in the Dugragh bog
Was who had in for Joe Murphy and went out and shot his dog?

We did have foxes visit at night to rouse the hens was their habit
With spuds there was nothing tastier than a leg of roasted rabbit
Farmers were known to hate dogs that often worried their sheep.
Maybe that’s how the dog met his maker when we were all asleep
Not many went out shooting that night there was a real heavy fog
Maybe someone thought it was a fox and shot the poor old dog.

Most of the farmers had shotguns and often shot ducks in the lake
My mother lost ten when someone shot nine ducks and her drake

Not too many had rifles because a license cost about ten pound

And because of the north they checked everyone’s background
I have a secret to tell and I won’t put it on Face book or my blog

He had a lamb’s leg in his mouth when I shot Joe Murphy’s dog