Daddy and Button - A True Story

My sister told this beautiful story at the recent memorial service for my dad. Have tissues handy.

When my dad was young, someone gave him a filly that required bottle feeding. My dad eagerly agreed to the extra chore. He named her Button. It wasn't long before he could whistle her up from anywhere. They chased cows together, but also, she was a constant companion. He saved her in such a horrible snowstorm he had to crawl a fence line to find the house after leaving her in the barn. She repaid him by letting him practice trick riding and mounting at a dead run, like he had read the cavalry soldiers did. 

If anyone has had a special horse, you know that they are not like dogs or cats. They are more like friends who stay with you and work with you because they trust you. After Button was old and had to be retired, my dad was just starting his haying business, and his family. Living on the ranch with my grandparents in the same small house was too much of a strain on my parents’ marriage, so they moved out. Unfortunately, my grandad did not take this well, and in a fit of spite, told my dad he had to get rid of Button. 

My dad could find no place to put the old mare, and he didn’t have the means to board her, so he made the difficult decision to “chicken feed” her. He wasn’t there when the kill wagon came to get her. As sad as that sounds, it wasn’t the end the story. 

Heading out with a load of hay to deliver, he stopped at a café for a cup of coffee mid-morning. When he came out of the café, there was the slaughter truck with Button inside, still alive. When she saw him, she screamed and tried to get to him. He had to turn his back and walk away, choosing his family over his horse and childhood friend.

One of his favorite quotes was by R.B. C. Graham in a letter to Theodore Roosevelt: God forbid that I should go to any Heaven in which there are no horses.

My father lived a full and happy life, and he gave so much to so many.

His memorial service ended with the song, I Can Imagine. 

We imagine he is with God now in the heaven he always hoped for, with Button, waiting for our mom to join him.