Kibbles and Bits

A bit of business from a funeral scene in the novel Whale Season by N.M. Kelby:

“You may ask why I bark at a time such as this,” he says to the fifty or so assembled. “I have recently come to barking because I believe it is a form of prayer. I bark to honor my inner dog.”

Then he barks again. This time it’s a dark poodle of a rumble.

“You see, we are loved and nourished by mysterious hands, the hands of our master—be it God, Buddha, Shiva—whatever the name—they got your kibbles. They got your bits.”

I think the only appropriate response to this is: woof.