LABRADOR RETRIEVER RESCUE
SOUTHERN ENGLAND
JUST A DOG
From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up,it's just a dog,"
or, "that's a lot of money for just a dog."
hey don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent,
or the costs involved for
"just a dog."
Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog."
Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog,"
but I did not once feel slighted.
Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog,"
and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog"
gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.
If you, too, think it's "just a dog,"
then you will probably understand phrases like
"just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just a promise."
"Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence offriendship, trust,
and pure unbridled joy.
"Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that makes me a better person.
Because of "just a dog", I will rise early, take long walks
and look longingly to the future.
So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a dog"
but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future,
the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.
"Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and
diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.
I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a dog",
but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a man or woman."
So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog",
just smile -- because they "just don't understand."
Author Unknown
Inner Strength
If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills,
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,
If you can overlook when people take things out on you when,
through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can do all these things,
Then you are probably the family dog!
My Life as a Dog: A Diary
1st week: Today I am one week old. What a joy to be part of this World!
1 month: My mother takes very good care of me. She's really an exemplary mother.
2 months: Today I was separated from my mother. She was very restless and with her eyes bade me good-bye. I hope my new human family will take as good care of me as she has.
4 months: I have grown very rapidly, everything attracts my attention.
There are several children in the house who are like little brothers to me.
We play a lot, they pull on my tail and I give them little bites in good fun.
5 months Today: I was yelled at. My mistress was all upset because I peed inside the house but I was never told where exactly I should do it. I also sleep in the hall. I was very unhappy about that!
8 months: I am a very happy dog! I have the warmth of a home, I feel so safe, so protected... I think that my human family loves me. The courtyard is all mine and, oftentimes, I exceed myself, digging the ground like my ancestors, the wolves, to hide the food. They never try to teach me anything. It must be all right then, all these things I am doing!
12 months Today: I am one year old. I am an adult dog. But my masters say that I have grown more than they had expected. How proud they must be of me!
13 months Today: I was tied up. I was almost unable to move, to catch a sunbeam when I feel cold, or to shade myself when the sun is on high. They say they are going to observe me and that I am ungrateful. I don't understand a thing of what is happening to me.
15 months: All is changed now... They keep me locked up in the veranda. I feel very lonely. My human family doesn;t want me any more. Sometimes they forget that I am thirsty and hungry. When it rains, I don't have a roof above my head...
16 months: Today they removed me from the veranda. I was sure that my human family had forgiven me. I was so happy that I was leaping with excitement. My tail was working like a fan. What's more, I thought they were going to take me for a walk!!! We took the direction of the highway and, all of a sudden, they stopped the car, opened the door and I got out, happy, thinking that we would spend the day in the country. I don't understand why they closed the door and left. Listen, wait! I barked. They have forgotten me... I run after the car with all my strength. My anguish grew as I started to understand, as I was out of breath and they were not stopping, that they had abandoned me! 17 months: I looked in vain for the way back home. I am alone and feel lost. On my wanderings, I meet some people with a good heart who look at me with sorrow and give me some food. I thank them with my eyes, from the bottom of my soul. I wish they would adopt me. I would be loyal like none before me! But they just say: poor little dog, it must be lost. 18 months: Some days ago, I went by a school and saw many children and youngsters like my little brothers. I got closer and a group of those youngsters, laughing, threw a shower of stones at me, just to see who would aim best. One of those stones hit me in one eye and, since, I can't see at all with it.
19 months: It's incredible. When I was better looking, people took pity on me. I am very week now, and look awful. I've lost one eye, and people show me the broom when I try to rest in the shade somewhere.
20 months: I find it increasingly difficult to move. Today, while trying to cross the street, I was hit by a car. I was in the pedestrian crossing zone, but I will never forget the satisfied look of the driver, who even praised himself for having hit me. I wish he had indeed killed me! But he only dislocated my hind legs! The pain is insufferable! The legs are not obeying me, and only with great difficulty was I able to drag myself to the grass on the roadside. For ten days I have been exposed to the burning sun, the hard rain, the cold, without food. I can no longer move. The pain is insufferable. I am in a very humid place, and it looks like that even my hair is falling out. Some passers-by do not even notice me; others say: don't come any closer. I am almost unconscious, but a bit of strength from deep inside forces me to open my eyes. The sweetness of her voice made me react. Poor little dog, look how they have left you, it was saying. With her was a man in a white apron who touched me and said: I am sorry, lady, but this dog won't make it. It's better to help him out of his suffering. The kind lady, tears flowing down her cheeks, acquiesced. As well as I could, I moved my tail and thanked her, with my eyes, for helping me to finally rest in peace. While I was feeling the slight prickle of the needle, before that long lasting sleep, my last thought was: why did I have to be born, if no one wanted me.
Friends, The solution is not to abandon or cast away a dog, but to educate him. Do not turn into a problem for society such a lovable and grateful animal.
Tray's Poem - by Leslie Whalen
One by one, they pass by my cage,
'Too old', 'Too worn', 'Too broken', 'No way'.
'Way past his time, he can't run and play'.
Then they shake their heads slowly and go on their way.
A little old man, arthritic and sore,
It seems I am not wanted anymore.
I once had a home, I once had a bed,
A place that was warm, and where I was fed.
Now my muzzle is grey, and my eyes slowly fail.
Who wants a dog so old and so frail?
My family decided I didn't belong,
I got in their way, my attitude was wrong.
Whatever excuse they made in their head,
Can't justify how they left me for dead.
Now I sit in this cage, where day after day,
The younger dogs get adopted away.
When I had almost come to the end of my rope,
You saw my face, and I finally had hope.
You saw thru the grey, and the legs bent with age,
And felt I still had life beyond this cage.
You took me home, gave me food and a bed,
And shared your own pillow with my poor tired head.
We snuggle and play, and you talk to me low,
You love me so dearly, you want me to know.
I may have lived most of my life with another,
But you outshine them with a love so much stronger.
And I promise to return all the love I can give,
To you, my dear person, as long as I live.
I may be with you for a week, or for years,
We will share many smiles, you will no doubt shed tears.
And when the time comes that God deems I must leave,
I know you will cry and your heart, it will grieve.
And when I arrive at the Bridge, all brand new,
My thoughts and my heart will still be with you.
And I will brag to all who will hear,
Of the person who made my last days so dear.
Labrador Haiko
I lie belly-up
In the sunshine, happier than
You will ever be.
Today I sniffed
Many dog behinds - I celebrate
By kissing your face.
How do I love thee?
The ways are as numberless as
My hairs on the rug.
Sleeping here, my chin
On your foot - no greater bliss - well,
Maybe catching cats
Look in my eyes and
Deny it. No human could
Love you as much as I do.
Dig under the fence-why?
Because it is there. Because it's
There. Because it's there.
I am your best friend,
Now, always, and especially
When you are eating.
