He wants to honor his dead wife, so he takes the dog along with him just as she did. This is perhaps the only gesture the father makes toward the dog. Throughout the poem, it appears as if the father is indifferent to the dog, if anything at all.

The paradox we encounter in the poem is if a dog can actually suffer from grief with the ultimate question resting on the notion of animals missing human beings. The most ironic aspect of this poem is how the dog appears to be suffering more than the father is. The poet does not go into the father's suffering at all, except to say that he refuses counseling. The meaning and primary idea behind the poem is that all creatures suffer loss whether or not they can express it in ways that humans might be able to understand. It took death for...
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