a faithful dog (in loving memory of the newtown children)

I have to admit straight up that this post is sad.  My thoughts and my heart are with the people of Newtown CT today as they find some way to keep going after yesterday's incomprehensible tragedy.  One of the few comforts to be had in the face of such terrible sorrow is the support of those who care for you, which is why this story from an old children's book caught my eye.  It is told in the voice of a sagacious dog explaining to a curious child that dogs are faithful, and what the word "faithful" means.
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"I know an anecdote, too, about a Scotch dog who belonged to a woman named Jenny. This dog was very fond of his mistress's little babe, for he slept in the same cradle with it, and watched it all day. The child, however, died, and was buried at some distance from her mother's home. After her death, the dog was missed for a whole fortnight, when the mother happened to be passing through the churchyard, and found the faithful old Scotch dog on the child's grave! It had scratched a deep hole in the earth, and was lying there in a wretchedly lean state from starvation and grief." 

-- from S.P. Newcombe, Pleasant Pages (Houlston & Stoneman, 1850), p.308.

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Everyone at the Museum sends their love and support to the good folks of Newtown.