The door is opened and I see your face

So full of hope, offering me a safe place.

You gently reach in to take me home

Wondering why I am limp and act old.

 

I waited so long for someone to rescue me

My last home was the hollow of an old tree.

Once I had a home, nice as can be

Then I grew up and they didn’t want me

 

Passed from shelter’s to home’s over the years

I barked, got sick the excuses were clear.

I wasn’t perfect - I was just…me

That’s when I found my old hollow tree.

 

Over the years with no home for my own

I kept my feelings hidden, my love-it is gone.

I lost my hope and I don’t want it back

Just so tired and I want the eternal nap.

 

You have good intentions,

But it is too late for me

I have nothing left

Will you please rescue me?

 

Take me to the vet for that last final shot

Hold me as I say goodbye with a wave of my paw

Please let me go, this IS rescue you see,

It all comes down to knowing

 

When to set broken hearts free.

AN ANIMAL LOVER'S EULOGY

       Do not weep for me when I am gone
       For I have friends in the great beyond.
       All the little ones I used to feed
       Will come to me in my time of need.
       They will purr and bark in great delight,
       And I will hold and hug them tight.
       Oh what a great day that will be
       When my furry friends all welcome me.

                                       by    Richard Severo

Loss of An Angel Dog

Copyright by author 1999-Marilynn Snook

I stood by your bed last night, I came to have a peep.
I could see that you were crying, You found it hard to sleep.
I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
"It's me, I haven't left you, I'm well, I'm fine, I'm here."

I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea,
You were thinking of the many times, your hands reached down to me.

I was with you at the shops today, Your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more.

I was with you at my grave today, You tend it with such care.
I want to reassure you, that I'm not lying there.

I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for your key.
I gently put my paw on you, I smiled and said "it's me."

You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.

It's possible for me, to be so near you everyday.
To say to you with certainty, "I never went away."

You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew ...
in the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you.
The day is over... I smile and watch you yawning and say
"goodnight, God bless, I'll see you in the morning."

And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I'll rush across to greet you and we'll stand, side by side.

I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see.
Be patient, live your journey out ... then come home to be with me.

Explaining Dogs to Others - Author Unknown

These are our dogs
 This is their home
 from which we hope
 they'll never roam

 They're faithful friends
 we love them best.
 This is their home
 you are a guest

 If dogs to you
 are just a peeve
 Then by all means
 feel free to leave.

I'll Lend You for a Little While
(Author Unknown)

I'll lend you for a little while, a wee Scottie pup God said
For you to love him while he lives and mourn for when he's dead.
Maybe for twelve or fourteen years, or only two or three,
But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for me?
He'll bring his charms to gladden you and should his stay be brief
You'll always have his memories as solace for your grief.
I cannot promise he will stay since all from earth return,
but there are lessons taught below I want this pup to learn.
I've looked the whole world over in search of teachers true,
And from the folk that crowd life's land, I have chosen you.
Now will you give him all your love, not think the labor vain;
Nor hate me when I come to take my wee dog back again?

I fancied that I heard them say, "Dear Lord, Thy will be done,
For all the joys this pup will bring, the risk of grief we'll run.
We'll shelter him with tenderness, we'll love him while we may.
And for the happiness we've never known forever grateful stay.
But should you come to call him back much sooner than we've planned,
We'll brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand,
If  by our love we've managed your wishes to achieve.
In memory of him we loved, to help us while we grieve,
When our faithful friend departs this world of strife
We'll have another wee scottie pup and we'll love him all his life."

Parted

High in the courts of Heaven today
A little dog-angel waits,
With other angels he will not play
But he sits alone at the gates,
"For I know my master will come "thinks he
"And when he comes he will call for me."

And his master on earth, far down, below
As he sits on his fireside chair,
Forgets sometimes, and whistles low
For his Scottie that is not there.
And the little dog-angel cocks his ears
And dreams that his master's voice he hears.

And I know when at length his master waits
Outside in the dark and cold.
For the hound of death to open the gates
That lead to the Courts of Gold;
His little terrier's welcoming bark
Will comfort his soul in the shivering dark.

Author Unknown

"The Power of the Dog"

By Rudyard Kipling

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear. 

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie --
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair To risk your heart for a dog to tear. 

When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find -- it's your own affair -- But . . . you've given your heart to a dog to tear. 

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!)
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone -- wherever it goes -- for good,
You will discover how much you care, And will give your heart to a dog to tear. 

We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept'em, the more do we grieve;

For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long --
So why in -- Heaven (before we are there) Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

Thy Servant...A Dog - Rudyard Kipling

Master, this is Thy Servant. He is rising eight weeks old. He is mainly Head and Tummy. His legs are uncontrolled. But Thou hast forgiven his ugliness, and settled him on Thy Knee. . . Art Thou content with Thy Servant? He is very comfy with Thee.

Master, behold a Sinner ! He hath committed a wrong. He hath defiled Thy Premises through being kept in too long. Wherefore his nose has been rubbed in the dirt, and his self-respect has been bruisèd. Master, pardon Thy Sinner, and see he is properly loosèd.

Master -- again Thy Sinner ! This that was once Thy Shoe, He has found and taken and carried aside, as fitting matter to chew. Now there is neither blacking nor tongue, and the Housemaid has us in tow. Master, remember Thy Servant is young, and tell her to let him go.

Master, extol Thy Servant, he has met a most Worthy Foe ! There has been fighting all over the Shop -- and into the Shop also ! Till cruel umbrellas parted the strife (or I might have been choking him yet), But Thy Servant has had the Time of his Life -- and now shall we call the vet?

Master, behold Thy Servant ! Strange children came to play, And because they fought to caress him, Thy Servant wentedst away. But now that the Little Beasts have gone, he has returned to see (Brushed -- with his Sunday collar on) what they left over from tea.

Master, pity Thy Servant ! He is deaf and three parts blind. He cannot catch Thy Commandments. He cannot read Thy Mind. Oh, leave him not to his loneliness; nor make him that kitten's scorn. He hath had none other God than Thee since the year that he was born.

Lord, look down on Thy Servant ! Bad things have come to pass. There is no heat in the midday sun, nor health in the wayside grass. His bones are full of an old disease -- his torments run and increase. Lord, make haste with Thy Lightnings and grant him quick release.

DINAH IN HEAVEN -- by Rudyard Kipling

She did not know that she was dead 
But, when the pang was o'er, 
Sat down to wait her Master's tread 
Upon the Golden Floor,

With ears full-cock and anxious eyes, 
Impatiently resigned; 
But ignorant that Paradise 
Did not admit her kind.

There was one step along the Stair 
That led to Heaven's Gate; 
And, till she heard it, her affair 
Was -- she explained -- to wait.

And she explained with flattened ear, 
Bared lip and milky tooth-- 
Storming against Ithuriel's Spear 
That only proved her truth!

Sudden -- far down the Bridge of Ghosts 
That anxious spirits clomb-- 
She caught that step in all the hosts, 
And knew that he had come.

She left them wondering what to do, 
But not a doubt had she. 
Swifter than her own squeal she flew 
Across the Glassy Sea;

Flushing the Cherubs everywhere, 
And skidding as she ran, 
She refuged under Peter's Chair 
And waited for her man.

* * * * * *

There spoke a Spirit out of the press, 
'Said: -- "Have you any here 
That saved a fool from drunkenness, 
And a coward from his fear?

"That turned a soul from dark to day 
When other help was vain; 
That snatched it from Wanhope and made 
A cur a man again?"

"Enter and look," said Peter then, 
And set the Gate ajar. 
"If I know aught of women and men 
I trow she is not far."

"Neither by virtue, speech nor art 
Nor hope of grace to win; 
But godless innocence of heart 
That never heard of sin:

"Neither by beauty nor belief 
Nor white example shown. 
Something a wanton -- more a thief -- 
But -- most of all -- mine own."

"Enter and look," said Peter then, 
"And send you well to speed; 
But, for all that I know of women and men 
Your riddle is hard to read."

Then flew Dinah from under the Chair, 
Into his arms she flew -- 
And licked his face from chin to hair 
And Peter passed them through!