I caught the hardly perceptible movement of his lips: “My dear boy. My good boy is missed.”

At that moment, it became clear. His daughter was still driving in from another state, hours away, when I called her. Her voice trembled when I enquired if Murphy was a dog.

“Golden Retriever.” 13. While Dad has been in the hospital, we had to leave him with my brother.

Despite some persuasion and favor-seeking, our charge nurse managed to pull strings.