From Manga-Sketchbook: 14 pages short story which originally appeared in AERA COMIC'S "Nippon no Manga" anthology. To get anything other than the pretty pictures out of this short story, one should have read Natsume Souseki's Sanshiro.

Published as the Hitobito Series (人びとシリーズ): - The Keyaki Tree (欅の木) - The White Rocking Horse (白い木馬) - The Reunion (再会) - My Brother’s Life (兄の暮らし) - The Umbrella (雨傘) - At the Art Gallery (絵画館付近) - Through the Forest (林を抜けて) - His Hometown (彼の故郷)

Five short stories. The first one tells the death of an old dog, hence the title. The last one is a bit similar to a later work of the author, Kamigami no Itadaki.

On his way back from a business trip, the protagonist decides on a whim to take a train back to his old hometown. The moment he pays respects to his mother's grave in the transformed town, he is transported back to a summer when he was still in junior high school, only with all his middle-age consciousness, knowledge and abilities intact. On this journey across time, he understands for the first time the burdens born by his father, and his mother's tears. This is the kind of fantasy manga were made for, executed by an artist of great talent. This is a serious, delicate, and ultimately moving time travel variation.

Nowadays, who takes his time to climb a tree in the middle of the city? To look at the birds, to play in the puddles after the rain? The walking man, through his lonely and silent strolls, makes us rediscover the happiness of wandering around... -- Manga-Sketchbook