SOLVED. Short story, appeared in Analog Science Fiction Magazine ca. 1995-2000. Written from the perspective of a dog who is visited occasionally in the evening by a strange man. Spoilers ahead.

[Chris]

The story is written from the perspective of a dog who is visited intermittently, over a span of weeks or months, by a strange man. The man comes only late at night, and avoids going near the house.

The man just wants to sit and pet the dog, and so each night, they sit together, behind the barn, and out of sight. Over time, the dog becomes increasingly aware that there is something familiar about the man.

(view spoiler)[The dog begins to identify the man with the boy who is presently his master by day, though he is confused by this. Toward the end, the man tearfully tells the dog that he is running out of money, and won’t be able to visit much more. We infer both from the things that the dog intuits, and from the limited remarks of the man, that the man is paying fees to travel back in time to visit the dog that was his as a boy.

The story closes with the dog musing that the man did indeed stop coming after a few more visits, and that later, the boy went off to school. We read that the dog lived some years longer, but never saw either again. (hide spoiler)]

I believe I read this in Analog Science Fiction Magazine back around 1999 or so. I’ve been unable to find it via my searches elsewhere. I’d be very glad if anyone could identify it.

Thanks!

[Chris]

I've found it, thanks to Jeffery Kooistra.

It is "Teddy" (1996) by Rob Chilson

http://mightymac.org/keith/teddy.htm