For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for April 21, 2024

How did the real Farley die? Did he still have balls?

The one thing I wish is they gave Farley more father-son time with Edgar before he passed.

John has clearly calmed down since the John who blamed April for everything earlier this week. He is basically seeing the consequences of his actions on his daughter. April is way too young to get “this was all my fault” unless she was TOLD it was all her fault. April can’t sleep because she remembers everyone yelling at her for putting herself in danger and killing the dog. Once again the writing is excellent. You would expect April to be feeling the guilt after she got fished out of the river and yelled at by her parents, so this reaction fits perfectly.

While John is trying to say something comforting, he is hilariously awful at it. The message of “We are on loan. Our lives are temporary to us. We can die at any moment.” is not exactly comforting. It’s amazing April can go to sleep after that message. Very funny, but also very dark humor today.

But it WAS her fault! She disobeyed her parents and wandered from the yard to the river.

But, in fairness, John and Elly must share the blame. In their own self-centeredness, they neglected to watch their daughter.

Mike’s gonna have to be told…

Dads know. We know how to explain things to kids in gentle ways about terrifying things. Why? Because no one was there for us in the past “Suck it up” so we show kids the way we wanted to be treated to break the cycle.

When I first saw this, I clipped it out of the paper and posted it on the fridge. My middle son first saw it and said “Dad, that is exactly how you explained Lucky’s death and it really helped me see life is short.” He turned and gave me a hug from behind. “You are Dadamazing”

My daughter came in saying how she loved it because it reminded her about Lucky and how I was there for he, She then gave me a hug and said I am luckily I have a Dadamazing

My youngest came in to get some milk. I followed as he tended to spill. He stood there and started to cry. I said “Hey Mister, why the tears?” He blubbered he missed Lucky. So I sat down again, and said in longer phrases what John said, the crying became hitching and he said “Don’t ever go Dad, No one else explains things to me as well as you do.”

Later that night, I tucked in my 18, 17, and 15 year old kids, saying to myself how kids are not as terrible as society says they are, and how lucky I was.

Sweet. Hugs are the best medicine.

Perdita and I have been so sad reading about our old friend, Farley. I would like to think that we would all do the same to save a young child.

What an epilogue !

From Lynn’s Comments: Because some papers only carried the colour Sunday page, the story of Farley’s passing had to happen, almost separately, on the Sunday page as well. This meant having to craft dialogue that covered all of the important points without going into the details of the story. For the papers that carried both the daily and the Sunday page, it was important to show a reasonable flow of information without writing too much! Normally, I didn’t continue a storyline into the weekend because of this conundrum, but in this case, I had no choice. Readers who only had access to the Sunday page needed to know what had happened during the week.

This kid still calls herself “Aypo” but can articulate a very complex thought that her “body wants to sleep but her mind won’t let her.” Not very realistic.

How does this kid go from lisping & baby-talk to clear articulate sentences?

Well, it’s not entirely your fault that Farley died, Aypo. But you are very highly complicit in that.

To the April finger-pointers: Do you rember how YOU behaved at that age?

Eventually, all of us are reduced to that dash between two dates. What we do with the dash is what matters.

One of the better cartoons ever written. Thanks, Lynn.

Your dad is lying to you April, it was all your fault

Probably the best closing of an arc I’ve ever read

Well it was April’s fault. Farley was old,yes. But he would have likely died an easier less traumatic death down the line – of even that day- if the brat stayed out of the water. April is essentially like the little kid they add to sitcoms when the original kids get a little older. They rarely make anything better.

There’s a lot to think about in that lesson……

Don’t think anyone posted Lynn’s comments yet, so hear they are.

“Lynn’s Comments: Because some papers only carried the colour Sunday page, the story of Farley’s passing had to happen, almost separately, on the Sunday page as well. This meant having to craft dialogue that covered all of the important points without going into the details of the story. For the papers that carried both the daily and the Sunday page, it was important to show a reasonable flow of information without writing too much! Normally, I didn’t continue a storyline into the weekend because of this conundrum, but in this case, I had no choice. Readers who only had access to the Sunday page needed to know what had happened during the week.”

As an FYI: If you’re a resident of ONTARIO CANADA, are on ODSP, OW, CPP (i.e. low income, below CA$25,000), and your pet needs vet care that you can’t afford … ask the vets near you, if they work with “THE FARLEY FOUNDATION” …

Lynn started it in 2002, to help low-income individuals in Ontario.

Bob Barker reminding you to do your part to help prevent animal cruelty. Have your pets spayed or neutered.

Enjoy the hug, Ellie.

how many times will Farley die?

Farley died doing what he loved. He could have languished in pain while the family tried to determine whether to have him put down. He’s a hero!

My wife’s life wasn’t long enough.

I thought I remembered her saying they got rid of the dog they had because one of their kids was allergic to it.

This is why one should live their life everyday to the fullest instead of always putting things off. One never knows what tomorrow may bring, ecstatic joy, or soul wrenching heartache. Both are a part of life, and need to be embraced. The only way one does so is to live, to love, to care and to take risks. Those are the people that live the far richer, more meaningful life over those that sit back, grouse and complain about others, for they lack the courage to meet life head on, live it to the fullest and die a richer person for it.

When I die, I want my friends to scratch their heads and wonder how I survived as long as I did.

And, that put her to sleep?

Interesting, my newspaper print of this comic has 2 extra panels before the start of the online one.

It was all her fault.

This is a rare Sunday strip that continues the week-day story line. As sad as the ongoing story is this is a nice tribute to Farley.

This was well done. We should all take a lesson from this.

Actually, April, it was your stupid grandmother’s fault for not keeping her eye on you.

Yes Dad,

That would scare the crap out of most kids.

Amen brother.

Most elderly pets, including every dog my family has owned, are euthanized after developing a chronic or terminal condition that can’t be effectively treated or managed without severely diminishing the animal’s quality of life. If that had been Farley’s fate, then “He was a very old dog, it was his time to go” would be a fair assessment.

However, he swam out into a raging river, tread water, swam against the current, and kept both himself and April from going under for . . . we don’t know exactly how long, but a significant amount of time. That suggests a level of strength, speed, and physical fitness that, yes, is unlikely in a dog his age, but was placed into the strip’s canon just the same. Add to this the fact that he sired a litter of puppies just a few months ago and reports of his decrepitude would seem to be greatly exaggerated.

Regardless of whether either April or the parents did or did not do anything blameworthy, the fact remains that Farley only died because a very specific, to say nothing of contrived, sequence of events placed him in a dangerous situation that could easily have been avoided. And if it had been we have no reason to assume he would have died anytime soon. At least, no reason based on anything we actually see on the page.

It was risky to kill Farley. Why didn’t Scrappy-Doo try to save April? :P

First panel- Who says there’s no such thing as a stupid question??

Yup!

I know so well how April feels about not being able to fall asleep, your body is exhausted and telling you to go to sleep so it can rejuvate but your mind won’t shut off and you just lay their thinking and looking at the time go by. I go through this most nights with the brain not shutting off because of my anxiety and since my sisters death I have not stlept well and my body lets me know that I am not getting enough sleep and I am totally exhausted, it tells you this by feeling weak and not being able to get around without being a slow crawl, your brain is fuzzy, you don’t know what day of the week, let alone what month it is, you force yourself to eat because you need to survive and need food with some of your meds and so your blood sugar doesn’t plummet, etc.

“Remember – To err is human; To forgive – CANINE.”

I admit that I also thought it was her fault, but hey, they are accidents, which I hope didn’t happen, plus the dog is now in a better place, because all dogs go to heaven and it’s a fact!

I just caught up on the week’s comics, reading for the first time. So sad. Losing a loved pet is terrible, and the pain lasts infinitely. At least the family member have each other, but what a blow. R.I.P., Farley … we’ll always remember. <3

One troublemaking rabbit is on the horizon

Mmmmm…YES IT WAS APRIL’S FAULT, she is nothing but a little brat that needs a good whooping. Now poor Farley paid the price, figured that something was going to happen when “a new puppy” was introduced. Only one more reason to dislike the little “snot”….shame on her Mother for not keeping tabs on her. Poor Elizabeth is stuck with watching her most of the time anyway. Really disappointed with the loss of Farley.

I will openly admit that the loss of Farley made me feel sad. When you follow a comic strip or book over a long period of time you not only become involved with the lives of the characters but also can equate their experiences with your own. In short, they become real. Lynn Johnston’s decision to end the life of one of the strip’s most beloved characters took me by surprise; at the same time I was still grieving over the recent death of my sister’s pet cat (I was the cat’s “uncle”) which made Farley’s death even keener. Farley was old; so was my sister’s cat. It is one of the sad realities of life: that pet owners will inevitably see their beloved friends die.

I love this cartoon. I am a cartoonist who have been in love with this art, both as a reader and an artist, for more than sixty years, yet I’ve never seen a comic strip treat the matter of a death in the family with such sensitivity. It brought tears to my eyes. Lynn Johnston took on a subject that for most cartoonists is a land too far. The death of a character is tough to enact, almost as much as it is in real life. When Farley’s time had come, as was the case with my sister’s cat, it was a reminder, at least for me, that we cannot afford to take life for granted; our beloved ones can depart this life at any time. Life is meant to be lived by the day, by the hour, even by the minute. Forget the long laid-out plans and take the time to enjoy the sunset.