A Dog Named Beau

Actor Jimmy Stewart recites a poem to his beloved dog Beau. - Video Attached

Posted by: N Gilbert

Stewart and his beloved Beau

Not everyone has watched the video on YouTube or fortunate enough to see the real episode that was on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson of Hollywood's Golden Era actor, James Stewart reciting a poem he wrote about his beloved dog, Beau. It is such a heartfelt poem and a wonderful tribute to Man's Best Friend. Make sure to grab the tissues for this one! ♥






Jimmy Stewart wrote a moving poem about his "willful but beloved" dog Beau, which he recited on on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1981. While he was shooting a movie he got a phone call from his vet telling him Beau was terminally ill and asking for permission to euthanize the dog. He told the vet to keep him alive and he'll be there. Stewart later remembered, "After [Beau] died there were a lot of nights when I was certain that I could feel him get into bed beside me and I would reach out and pat his head. The feeling was so real that I wrote a poem about it and how much it hurt to realize that he wasn’t going to be there any more."

A Dog Named Beau

He never came to me when I would call 

Unless I had a tennis ball, 

Or he felt like it, 

But mostly he didn't come at all. 

When he was young 

He never learned to heel 

Or sit or stay, 

He did things his way. 

Discipline was not his bag 

But when you were with him things sure didn't drag. 

He'd dig up a rosebush just to spite me, 

And when I'd grab him, he'd turn and bite me. 

He bit lots of folks from day to day, 

The delivery boy was his favorite prey. 

The gas man wouldn't read our meter, 

He said we owned a real man-eater. 

He set the house on fire But the story's long to tell. 

Suffice it to say that he survived 

And the house survived as well. 

On the evening walks, and Gloria took him, 

He was always first out the door. 

The Old One and I brought up the rear 

Because our bones were sore. 

He would charge up the street with Mom hanging on, 

What a beautiful pair they were! 

And if it was still light and the tourists were out, 

They created a bit of a stir. 

But every once in a while, he would stop in his tracks 

And with a frown on his face look around. 

It was just to make sure that the Old One was there 

And would follow him where he was bound. 

We are early-to-bedders at our house- 

I guess I'm the first to retire. 

And as I'd leave the room he'd look at me 

And get up from his place by the fire. 

He knew where the tennis balls were upstairs, 

And I'd give him one for a while. 

He would push it under the bed with his nose 

And I'd fish it out with a smile. 

And before very long 

He'd tire of the ball 

And be asleep in his corner In no time at all. 

And there were nights when I'd feel him 

Climb upon our bed And lie between us, 

And I'd pat his head. 

And there were nights when I'd feel this stare 

And I'd wake up and he'd be sitting there 

And I reach out my hand and stroke his hair. 

And sometimes I'd feel him sigh and I think I know the reason why. 

He would wake up at night 

And he would have this fear 

Of the dark, of life, of lots of things, 

And he'd be glad to have me near. 

And now he's dead. 

And there are nights when I think I feel him 

Climb upon our bed and lie between us, 

And I pat his head. 

And there are nights when I think I feel that stare 

And I reach out my hand to stroke his hair, 

But he's not there. 

Oh, how I wish that wasn't so, 

I'll always love a dog named Beau.

~~

Hear Actor James Stewart recite his poem of his beloved dog, Beau on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Original Air Date - 7/28/81