George Bush’s dog, Barney, is honoured with an obituary-like article. This reminded me of the obituary I wrote for my beloved labrador, Kirner, who was named in honour of Joan.
When I submitted Kirner’s obituary to The Age in 2006, I was told that obituaries are for people, not dogs.
The Age dropped the ball on this one and missed the opportunity to be tail blazing.
With so many of us loving our pets, why not devote a page to faithful companion obituaries? This may even help to get print media out of the financial doghouse.
First published as a letter to The Age in 2013