Dog's Commandments

 

1.      My life likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be very painful for me

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, but I only have you.

5.      Talk to me. Even if I don’t understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me. It makes me happy knowing I’m loved.

6.      Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget.

7.      Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, 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, enough attention, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.

9.      Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old, and depend on your family to take care of you in your senior years.

10.  On the ultimate difficult journey, PLEASE go with me. NEVER say “you can’t bear to watch”. Don’t make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened – Author unknown.

Take a moment today and thank God for your pets! Enjoy and take good care of them. Life would be a much duller, less joyful experience without God’s critters.

We do not have to wait for Heaven to be surrounded by hope, love, and joyfulness. It’s here on earth and has four legs!!



 

HOW COULD YOU?  - Jim Willis, 2001

 

When I was a puppy, I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh.

You called me your child, and despite a number of chewed shoes and a

couple of murdered throw pillows, I became your best friend. Whenever I

was "bad," you'd shake your finger at me and ask

How could you?" -- but then you'd relent and roll me over for a bellyrub.

 

My housebreaking took a little longer than expected, because you were

terribly busy, but we worked on that together. I remember those nights of

nuzzling you in bed and listening to your confidences and secret dreams, and

I believed that life could not be any more perfect.

 

We went for long walks and runs in the park, car rides, stops for ice cream

(I only got the cone because "ice cream is bad for dogs" you said), and I

took long naps in the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the

day

 

Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and

more time searching for a human mate. I waited for you patiently,

comforted you through heartbreaks and disappointments, never chided you

about bad

decisions, and romped with glee at your homecomings, and when you fell in

love.

 

She, now your wife, is not a "dog person" -- still I welcomed her into our

home, tried to show her affection, and obeyed her. I was happy because you

were happy. Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement.

I was fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to

mother them, too. Only she and you worried that I might hurt them, and I

spent most of my time banished to another room, or to a dog crate.

 

Oh, how I wanted to love them, but I became a prisoner of love." As they

began to grow, I became their friend. They clung to my fur and pulled

themselves up on wobbly legs, poked fingers in my eyes, investigated my ears

and gave me kisses on my nose. I loved everything about them and their

touch -- because your touch was now so infrequent -- and I would've defended

them with my life if need be. I would sneak into their beds and listen to

their worries and secret dreams, and together we waited for the sound of

your car in the driveway. There had been a time, when others asked you if

you had a dog, that you produced a photo of me from your wallet and told

them stories about me. These past few years, you just answered "yes" and

changed the subject.

 

I had gone from being "your dog" to "just a dog," and you resented every

expenditure on my behalf. Now, you have a new career opportunity in another

city, and you and they will be moving to an apartment that does not allow

pets. You've made the right decision for your "family," but there was a time

when I was your only family. I was excited about the car ride until we

arrived at the animal shelter. It smelled of dogs and cats, of fear, of

hopelessness.

You filled out the paperwork and said "I know you will find a good home

for her." They shrugged and gave you a pained look. They understand the

realities facing a middle-aged dog, even one with "papers." You had to

pry your son's fingers loose from my collar as he screamed "No, Daddy! Please

don't let them take my dog!" And I worried for him, and what lessons you

had just taught him about friendship and loyalty, about love and

responsibility, and about respect for all life.

 

You gave me a good-bye pat on the head, avoided my eyes, and politely

refused to take my collar and leash with you. You had a deadline to meet and

now I have one, too. After you left, the two nice ladies said you probably

knew about your upcoming move months ago and made no attempt to find me

another good home. They shook their heads and asked, "How could you?"

 

They are as attentive to us here in the shelter as their busy schedules

allow. They feed us, of course, but I lost my appetite days ago. At first,

whenever anyone passed my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping it was you

that you had changed your mind -- that this was all a bad dream... or I

hoped it would at least be someone who cared, anyone who might save me.

 

When I realized I could not compete with the frolicking for attention of

happy puppies, oblivious to their own fate, I retreated to a far corner and

waited. I heard her footsteps as she came for me at the end of the day, and

I padded along the aisle after her to a separate room.

 

A blissfully quiet room. She placed me on the table and rubbed my ears, and

told me not to worry. My heart pounded in anticipation of what was to come,

but there was also a sense of relief. The prisoner of love had run out of

days.

 

As is my nature, I was more concerned about her. The burden which she bears

weighs heavily on her, and I know that, the same way I knew your every

mood. She gently placed a tourniquet around my foreleg as a tear ran down

her cheek. I licked her hand in the same way I used to comfort you so many

years ago. She expertly slid the hypodermic needle into my vein. As I felt

the

sting and the cool liquid coursing through my body, I lay down sleepily,

looked into her kind eyes and murmured "How could you?"

 

Perhaps because she understood my dogspeak, she said "I'm so sorry."

 

She hugged me, and hurriedly explained it was her job to make sure I went to

a better place, where I wouldn't be ignored or abused or abandoned, or have

to fend for myself -- a place of love and light so very different from this

earthly place. And with my last bit of energy, I tried to convey to her with

a thump of my tail that my "How could you?" was not directed at her.

 

It was directed at you, My Beloved Master, I was thinking of you. I will

think of you and wait for you forever. May everyone in your life continue

to show you so much loyalty.

 

A Note from the Author: If "How Could You?" brought tears to your eyes as

you read it, as it did to mine as I wrote it, it is because it is the

composite story of the millions of formerly "owned" pets who die each year

in American & Canadian animal shelters. Please use this to help educate,

on your websites, in newsletters, on animal shelter and vet office

bulletin boards. Tell the public that the decision to add a pet to the

family is an important one for life, that animals deserve our love and

sensible care, that finding another appropriate home for your animal is

your responsibility and any local humane society or animal welfare league

can offer you good advice, and that all life is precious. Please do your

part to stop the killing, and encourage all spay & neuter campaigns in

order to prevent unwanted animals.

 

Please pass this on to everyone, not to hurt them or make them sad, but it

could save maybe, even one, unwanted pet.

 

Remember...They love UNCONDITIONALLY

 

 

 

If Not For You

I would've given up on life, if not for your kind eyes.
I would have used my teeth in fear, if not for your gentle hand.
I would have left this life believing that all humans don't care
… there is no such thing as fur that isn't matted
... skin that isn't flea bitten
… good food and enough of it
... beds to sleep on
... someone to love me, to show me I deserve love, just because I exist.

Your kind eyes…
Your loving smile…
Your gentle hands…
Your big heart saved me!!!!!

You saved me from the terror of dying on the street.
You have soothed away the memories of my old life.
You have taught me what it means to be loved.
I have seen you do the same for others just like me.

I have heard you ask yourself in times of despair, “Why do I do it… When there is no more money... No more room... No more homes???” I see you open your heart a little bigger... stretch the money a little tighter... make just a little more room... to save one more… like me.

I tell you this with all the gratitude and love that shines in my eyes. It is the best way I know how to remind you why you go on trying....

I AM THE REASON

The others before me are the reason,
As are the ones who come after.
Our lives would've been wasted...
Our love never given...

I WOULD HAVE DIED THAT DAY IF NOT FOR YOU!

Author Unknown

 

The Rescuer’s Final Reward

 

 

Almost all animal rescuers know of the Rainbow Bridge, where departed animals wait

for their people to meet them for the last joyous walk across the Bridge together.

This story is also about the Rainbow Bridge, but concerns those animals who never

found their forever homes on earth. This posting is my tribute to the rescuers, who

are granted automatic sainthood in my book.  ~ JJP

 

 

Unlike most days at the Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned cold and gray. All the

recent arrivals at the Bridge did not know what to think, as they had never seen

such a day. But the animals who had been waiting longer for their beloved people to

accompany them across the Bridge knew what was happening, and they began to gather

at the pathway leading to the Bridge.

 

Soon an elderly dog came into view, head hung low and tail dragging He approached

slowly, and though he showed no sign of injury or illness, he was in great emotional

pain. Unlike the animals gathered along the pathway, he had not been restored to

youth and vigor upon arriving at the Bridge. He felt out of place, and wanted only

to cross over and find happiness.

 

But as he approached the Bridge, his way was barred by an angel, who apologized and

explained that the tired and broken-spirited old dog could not cross over. Only

those animals accompanied by their people were allowed to cross the Bridge. Having

nobody, and with nowhere else to turn, the dog trudged into the field in front of

the Bridge. There he found others like himself, elderly or infirm, sad and

discouraged. Unlike the other animals waiting to cross the Bridge, these animals

were not running or playing. They simply were lying in the grass, staring forlornly

at the pathway across the Rainbow Bridge. The old dog took his place among them,

watching the pathway and waiting…yet not knowing for what he was waiting.

 

One of the newer dogs at the Bridge asked a cat who had been there longer to explain

what was happening. The cat replied, “Those poor animals were abandoned, turned

away, or left at rescue places, but never found a home on earth. They all passed on

with only the love of a rescuer to comfort them. Because they had no people to love

them, they have nobody to escort them across the Rainbow Bridge.”

 

The dog asked the cat, “So what will happen to those animals?” Before the cat could

answer, the clouds began to part and the cold turned to bright sunshine. The cat

replied, “Watch, and you will see.” In the distance was a single person, and as he

approached the Bridge the old, infirm and sad animals in the field were bathed in a

golden light. They were at once made young and healthy, and stood to see what their

fate would be. The animals who had previously gathered at the pathway bowed their

heads as the person approached. At each bowed head, the person offered a scratch or

hug.

 

One by one, the now youthful and healthy animals from the field fell into line

behind the person. Together, they walked across the Rainbow Bridge to a future of

happiness and unquestioned love. The dog asked the cat, “What just happened?”

 

The cat responded, “That was a rescuer. The animals gathered along the pathway

bowing in respect were those who had found their forever homes because of rescuers.

They will cross over when their people arrive at the Bridge. The arrival here of a

rescuer is a great and solemn event, and as a tribute they are permitted to perform

one final act of rescue. They are allowed to escort all those poor animals they

couldn’t place on earth across the Rainbow Bridge.”

 

The dog thought for a moment, then said, “I like rescuers.” The cat smiled and

replied, “So does God, my friend. So does God.”