A poem by the chief reporter of the Hucknall Dispatch is being circulated around schools in Newfoundland, Canada – in celebration of the birth of a dog.

The doggy tale began when Denis Robertson gave a talk to the local Mothers’ Union branch, and used the occasion to recite three poems – including one about Lord Byron’s much-loved Newfoundland dog, Boatswain.

Little did he realise that it was nearing the bicentenary of the animal’s birth… and several Mothers’ Union members asked for copies because they knew the anniversary was a big event for people living in Newfoundland.

The mayor of the capital St John asked if he could send it to local schools, and further copies have been sent to Byron’s ancestral home at Newstead Abbey, where the dog’s tomb lies in the grounds.

The tomb holds Byron’s epitaph to his four-legged friend, and Denis’s poem is an impression of what the dog might have said in response.

This is the poem Denis wrote:

‘Ever faithful, here I lie
Under Newstead’s changing sky.
I am Boatswain, he for whom
Byron built this noble tomb.
Every dog will have his day.
That at least is what men say.
But my master gave to me
Ageless immortality.
He thought I was his sole friend,
One on whom he could depend.
Well, I say with true emotion
He deserved all my devotion.
Thanks to this memorial
Animals can walk tall.
With this gesture, oh so bold,
Each poor beast has been extolled.
With a grief which does not cease,
I wish I had been in Greece
And, when my dear master died,
That I had been by his side.
But my heart is not oppressed
For I am so much at rest
And, as centuries pass by,
Still a sleeping dog I lie.
I may smile with wry content,
Slightly tinged with merriment,
When a boy, with wide-eyed stare,
Says: “Mum, there’s a DOG in there!”

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