I don't know if you ever read anything by Lewis Grizzard,
but he said once that when he was a boy that his preacher
performed a funeral for a little boy's dog because the boy
asked him to and he knew how much the dog meant to him.
Lewis said that that became his litmus test for clergy. He
would look at them and ask himself if this person would
preach a funeral for a boys dog.
Lewis Grizzard was a wonderful writer (he passed away several years ago). Just the titles of his books were funny. “Shoot Low Boys, They’re Riding Shetland Ponies”, “When My True Love Returns From The Ladie’s Room, Will I Be Too Old To Care?”, “Elvis is Dead, and I Don’t Feel So Good Myself”. The last book of his I read was “I Haven’t Understood Anything Since 1965” (or was it 1964?), I forget; but it was a very good book. I miss Lewis. :o(