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This is a true story: The title is the only possible explanation.

My Dog Was Part Cat
PERRY CRAWFORD 2004

It was hard to tell just what he was,
He was some of this and that.
But I swear to you my mangy mutt
Named Harvey was part cat.

I often took him hunting
In the woods behind my house,
He chased the squirrels and muskrats,
But would often eat a mouse.

Played with string and other things
On which a Kitty thrives,
But what convinces me for sure,
Was the number of his lives!

Ten feet tall and bullet proof
Was how he saw himself,
The spirit of an elephant
In the body of an elf.

A strange dog in the neighborhood
Brought Harvey to attack!
The giant dog looked bigger still
With Harvey on his back!

His jaws clamped down on Harvey’s head!
And shook him like a shoe!
And dropped him limp and lifeless!
There was nothing I could do!

The giant dog walked out of sight,
As soon as he was gone,
Harvey did a victory dance
And acted like he’d won!

I nearly had a heart attack
The day he chased a cat,
I heard the screeching tires
Of a car and that was that!

I saw the bumper hit his head,
And bounce him like a ball!
Not a single muscle twitched!
No sign of life at all!

The driver knelt and wept with me,
And then the cat drew near,
Harvey bolted after it!
And bit it on the rear!

He lost me on a hunting trip
By running far ahead.
A poacher shot him broadside
Then he left my dog for dead.

Harvey lay at death’s door
While I dug the buckshot out,
Then jumped straight up a’barkin!
He’s part cat, there is no doubt!

He jumped into deep water
Where a Raccoon took him down!
They’re known for their ability
To cause a dog to drown!

Bubbles hit the surface!
Followed by a coat of grey!
To my surprise the Raccoon
Was the one that died that day!

Harvey jumped out of the water!
And he shook and choked and wheezed!
And looking down from heaven
His cat ancestors were pleased!

Awe Gee. man I'm choked up. I'm a doggy dude,
thanks for posting
all the best.john

He was alone at home when our old house caught fire. He was found in my room. He died of smoke inhalation. I was away in Army basic training.

Losing beloved pets is brutal. Took me and Linda a decade to get over losing what started as her Dog & Cat before we took on another family members Dog which we both fell in love with and now she's getting older and older (aren't we all) and we're both constantly terrified she's gone when she doesn't answer our call right away. The Dog and Cat Linda had had since birth in both cases, 17+ years and 21+ years respectively. The Cat passed first and the Dog who had had him in his entire life got so depressed he just gave up on his own life and broke down, wouldn't eat, lost his ability to walk and we held on a bit longer than we should have with me carrying him (big black lab weighed over 90 at the peak but quickly lost and lost until he was only about 70 when he passed. He had a nice long life as did the cat with many stories and adventures, but he couldn't take losing his brother.

Now we have a tiny little Pappilon called Megan who weighs 8-9 pounds but acts like she's 90#. My wife is almost dangerously attached to her and I can't bear her losing this little dog who at first we didn't want, but once we babysat for her, more and more until her Mother was going to give her away to someone else and we couldn't let her go. That was 4 years ago. She was already considered an old dog at the time with rough estimates on her age that should have meant she wouldn't still be here. She has slowed down, lost some vision and hearing, but she's attached to my wife every moment my wife is home and to me when she's not. We've lost quite a few people in the past year, and this one will hurt so much when she goes so I keep hoping for more time and she's been pretty healthy her last couple check ups (we take her for any/everything that happens like a new parent takes their first child). We missed our trip to Iceland we had saved up for about 5 years because literally minutes after the 5 week vacation started before we had even packed, she slipped on our hard wood floors and broke her leg and they messed up the surgery and she had to have 2 more to fix it and we spent all the money on her AND had to carry her in and out to potty and pick her up for anything else and couldn't leave her alone for a moment because she wasn't allowed to even try to walk on it due to the damage from the botched surgery until the new could heal which took exactly....5 weeks. Ha... but we were glad she's back to her old self.

Your story reminds me of my younger brother whose house caught fire and his dog woke him up frantically barking and my brother opened him eyes and his bed was already on fire and he had to jump almost naked out the bedroom window but the dog couldn't make it out. He lost her, and everything but the underwear he was wearing. His wife was at work and all she had were the scrubs she was wearing. He had to go a half mile up the road to wake up his aunt for help but it was already way to late to save anything. He lost other pets and all his things but his dog still haunts him. She saved his life. Man's best friend indeed.

That's a fine lyric to a sad story.
I always think of my dogs as my children. Their short lives always worry me.

Vic

Talking about losing pets, I lost Judy and Deadlock (two terriers) years ago, Judy got run over and old age claimed Deadlock,just like you mentioned Brian,
Judy used to follow me into the bathroom.sit and gaze into my eyes as I did the business flicking her ears when she heard the plop, man that's what I call affection.
but
one of the biggest heartbreaks I had was when I accidentally killed our goldfish called Wee John.
The kids won him at a fair, and he lived with us for years, swimming around alone in his bowl in a small room I used as an office in the house,I fed him and gave him a regular hello Wee John,
One day I decided to redecorate the place and moved Wee John to the living room, next morning he was dead
Who knows what killed him. atmosphere/temperature/change of scenery all I know is I wish I'd never decided to redecorate that room.the guilt trip still exists after 25 years.
all the best, john.

I like it. Will be interested in hearing it with music, if that is the plan. If you have not heard it before look up "Ole Shep" or it might be "Old Shep" by Elvis presly.

Don't recall who did the original version of "Old Shep". Was it Tex Ritter?

Why your dog was like a cat was two things; the whole "nine lives" scenario, which also BTW applied to a lot of restaurant locations as well. Also going after mice. In my teenage years I knew people who had a Doberman. She was smaller than the average Dobe, but was as good a mouser as any cat. As far as the lyric itself goes, I was able to feel the energy building all the way to the end of the story.