Panel #1, that look is pure love. I have lost a number of pets in my life, and have been with each of them at the end to see that look, as all good pet parents should want to be. To see that love, to tell them they were good and true pets, and to hold their head as they go to their rest. It’s the least we can do in gratitude.
I mean, if you read the strips from Jan 27th when Wally said, “Go, go, go!” it takes about 30 seconds (at most) to get here, and that’s with admiring the artistry. Remember that Neathery is drawing this in real time, not as one would normally would read a comic or graphic novel.
Suddenly the OLD Sesame Street bit of “Chiquita Banana” got stuck in my head.