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A dog and owner were walking along a road. The owner was enjoying
the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to her that she was dead.
She remembered dying, and that the dog had been dead for years.
She wondered where the road was leading them. After a while, they
came to a high,
white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine
marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch
that glowed in the sunlight. When she was standing before it,
she saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother
of pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure
gold. She and the dog walked toward the gate, and as she got closer,
she saw a man at a desk to one side. When she was close enough,
she called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
"This is heaven, ma'am," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the woman asked.
"Of course, ma'am. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
Can my friend," gesturing toward her dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we don't accept pets."
The woman thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way she had been going. After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, she came to a dirt road which led through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As she approached the gate, she saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me!" she called to the reader. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there" The man pointed to a place that couldn't be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump."
They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the bowl and took a long drink herself, then she gave some to the dog. When they were full, she and her dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree waiting for them.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is heaven," was the answer.
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was heaven, too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold streets and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No. I can see how you might think so, but we're just happy that they screen out the folks who'll leave their best friends behind".
~ This story appeared in a similar
form on a mailing list for Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.
Author unknown, but if one comes forward and contacts
me, I'll be glad to credit it
