The Rainbow Bridge
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance.
His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again.
The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….
~Author Unknown
10 COMMANDMENTS OF OWNING A DOG
[From ASPCA/Dear Abby column]
1. My life is likely to last 10 to 15 years. Any separation from you will be very painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.
3. Place your trust in me – it is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don’t be angry with me for long, and don’t lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment. I HAVE ONLY YOU!
5. Talk to me. Even if I don’t understand your words, I understand your voice when it’s speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I’ll never forget.
7. Before you hit me, remember that I have teeth that could easily crush the bones in your hand, but I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I’m not getting the right food, I’ve been out in the sun too long, or my heart may be getting old and weak.
9. Take care of me when I get old. You, too, will grow old.
A Shelter Dogs Poem
Once upon a time, you see, there was this little pup.
For reasons unbeknownst to me, his family gave him up.
Maybe it was chewing everything that he could find, maybe they were busy and just didn’t have the time.
They took him to the shelter and they just left him there outside, alone, in the cage, shivering and scared not caring if he lived or died.
He sat there crying silently wondering what he did that was so bad that they just had to leave like they did.
However, fate was smiling on that little pup that day because a lady saw him and she whisked him right away.
He got that second chance at life that others may have not.
And now he is in a loving home yet still has not forgot.
Everyday he gets that love that he was looking for and silently is thankful for when she walked through that door.
Others may not have this chance, so open up your heart
And adopt a shelter dog to take and give a brand new start.
NOTE TO ADOPTERS
[by Diane Morgan]
Note to adopters: Lassie and Cleo and Rin Tin Tin and Toto don’t show up in rescue. We don’t get the elegantly coiffed, classically beautiful, completely trained, perfectly behaved dog. We get the leftovers. Dogs that other people have incompetently bred, inadequately socialized, ineffectively “trained,” and badly treated. Most Rescue dogs have had it. They’ve been pushed from one lousy situation to another. They’ve never had proper veterinary care, kind and consistent training, or sufficient company. They’ve lived outside, in a crate, or in the basement. They’re scared, depressed and anxious. Some are angry. Some are sick. Some have given up. But we are Rescue and we don’t give up. We never give up on a dog. We know that a dog is a living being, with a spirit and a heart and feelings. Our dogs are not commodities, things, or garbage. They are part of sacred creation and they deserve as much love and care and respect as the next Westminster champion. So please, please don’t come to rescue in the hopes of getting a “bargain,” or indeed of “getting” anything. Come to Rescue to give, to love, to save a life — and to mend your own spirit. For Rescue will reward you in ways you never thought possible. I can promise you this — a rescue dog will make you a better person.
Grow Old With Dogs
Grow Old with Dogs
When I am old….
I will wear soft gray sweatshirts,
and a bandanna over my silver hair,
and I will spend my social security checks on wine and my dogs.
I will sit in my house on my well-worn chair and listen to my dogs breathing.
I will sneak out in the middle of a warm summer night
and take my dogs for a run,
if my old bones will allow.
When people come to call……
I will smile and nod as I show them my dogs……
and talk of them and about them;
the ones so beloved of the past
and the ones so beloved today.
I will still work hard cleaning after them, mopping and feeding them
and whispering their names in a soft loving way.
I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat, like a jewel
and I will be an embarrassment to all…especially my family….
who have not yet found the peace in being free
to have dogs as your very best friends.
These friends who will always wait at any hour,
for your footfall….
and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep,
to greet you as if you are a God.
With warm eyes full of adoring love
and hope that you will always stay,
I’ll hug their big strong necks…..
I’ll kiss their dear sweet heads……
and whisper in their very special company.
I look in the Mirror…… ..And see I am getting old.
This is the kind of person I am and have always been.
Loving dogs is easy, they are part of me.
Please accept me for who I am.
My dogs appreciate my presence in their lives…
they love my presence in their lives.
When I am old, this will be important to me.
You will understand when you grow old……
if you have dogs to love too.
Rescue Poem
by Arlene Pace – September 18, 1998
Once I was a lonely dog, just looking for a home.
I had no place to go, no one to call my own.
I wandered up and down the streets, in rain in heat and snow.
I ate whatever I could find; I was always on the go.
My skin would itch, my feet were sore, my body ached with pain.
And no one stopped to give a pat or a gently say my name.
I never saw a loving glance; I was always on the run.
For people thought that hurting me was really lots of fun.
Then one day I heard a voice so gentle, kind and sweet,
and arms so soft reached down to me and took me off my feet.
No one again will hurt you was whispered in my ear.
You’ll have a home to call your own where you will know no fear.
You will be dry, you will be warm, you’ll have enough to eat
and rest assured that when you sleep, your dreams will all be sweet.
I was afraid I must admit, I’ve lived so long in fear.
I can’t remember when I let a human come so near.
And as she tended to my wounds and bathed and brushed my fur
she told me ’bout the rescue group and what it meant to her.
She said, We are a circle, a line that never ends.
And in the center there is you protected by new friends.
And all around you are the ones that check the pounds,
And those that share their home after you’ve been found.
And all the other folk are searching near and far.
To find the perfect home for you, where you can be a star.
She said, there is a family, that’s waiting patiently,
and pretty soon we’ll find them, just you wait and see.
And then they’ll join our circle they’ll help to make it grow,
so there’ll be room for more like you, who have no place to go.
I waited very patiently, the days they came and went.
Today’s the day I thought, my family will be sent.
Then just when I began to think it wasn’t meant to be,
there were people standing there just gazing down at me.
I knew them in a heartbeat; I could tell they felt it too.
They said, “We have been waiting for a special dog like you.”
Now every night I say a prayer to all the gods that be.
“Thank you for the life I live and all you’ve given me.
But most of all protect the dogs in the pound and on the street,
and send a Rescue Person to lift them off their feet.”
Some Really Great Books:
“Don’t Dump the Dog” by Randy Grim
“For the Love of a Dog” by Patricia B, McConnell
“The Loved Dog” by Tamar Geller
“Inside of a Dog” by Alexandra Horowitz
“Canine Body Language” by Brenda Aloff
