Kickass mortality

Kickass, the doorstop dog, turns it over to his keeper without comment, except to say that dogs do not dwell on such mundane things as death and mortality:

The calls come from the offspring of old friends, people you perhaps knew when they were children but who never have occasion to call you.  The minute they identify themselves you know, however, that they do have this one occasion to call, and you know what the message will be.  It only remains for them to say it was “Mom” or “Dad,” and you listen for any arrangement details so you can maybe help them say goodbye.