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Admin Comment by LM Fowler - Admin on March 8, 2009 at 6:46pm

ONE BY ONE ...

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 dog, 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 gray, 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 gray, 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 it is deemed 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.

Admin Comment by LM Fowler - Admin on March 1, 2009 at 6:43pm

I would've died that day
if not for you.

I would've given up on life
if not for your kind eyes.
I would've used my teeth in fear
if not for your gentle hands.

I would have left this life
believing that all humans don't care

Believing 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 the pound,
Soothing 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 other dogs like me.
I have heard you
ask yourself in times of despair
Why you do it.

When there is no more money,
no more room, no more homes.
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 with the gratitude
and love that shines in my eyes
In the best way I know how,
Reminding you why you go on trying.

I am the reason
The dogs before me are the reason
As are the ones who come after.
Our lives would've been wasted, our love never given
We would die if not for you.

By Kim Senke-Rocka
Associate Executive Director
Heart Bandits American Eskimo Dog Rescue

Admin Comment by LM Fowler - Admin on February 4, 2009 at 4:59pm

'Baggage' ~ A Poem


Now that I'm home, bathed, settled and fed,
All nicely tucked in my warm new bed.
I'd like to open my baggage lest I forget
There is so much to carry - So much to regret.

Hmm . . . Yes there it is, right on the top.
Let's unpack Loneliness, Heartache and Loss;
And there by my leash hides Fear and Shame.
As I look on these things I tried so hard to leave –
I still have to unpack my baggage called Pain.

I loved them, the others, the ones who left me,
But I wasn't good enough - for they didn't want me.
Will you add to my baggage?
Will you help me unpack?
Or will you just look at my things -
And take me right back?

Do you have the time to help me unpack?
To put away my baggage, to never repack?
I pray that you do - I'm so tired you see,
But I do come with baggage –

Will YOU still want ME?


Evelyn Colbath
'Baggage' © 1995 Evelyn Colbath. All rights reserved.

Admin Comment by LM Fowler - Admin on January 27, 2009 at 8:34pm

Advocate

Sickly and starved lying out there in the cold
this beautiful creature who's story is untold
all he wanted was your approval and your love
you leave him to die a problem you rid of
if you could just see the sadness in his eyes
as he lie there helpless and slowly he dies
he was so cute when you brought him home
with his wagging tale yet now he's alone
you swore to love him and give him your care
how can you stand to see him just lying there
you would rather let him suffer the grimmest fate
than pay money out of your pocket no matter the rate

you dump her off in the streets with all of her kin
when he mother gave birth to her it was such a sin
a pregnancy you could have prevented but didn't have time
now she stands out in the street covered in grime
she dodges the cars wondering which one is you
you abandoned her there and she hasn't a clue
she just wants to find her way back home to her mom
and curl up with her brothers where they all belong
her tummy starts to growl and she whimpers helplessly
the cars speed by and she watches anxiously
she believes you'll come back, what else would you do
she believes you love her as much as she loves you

locked in a dark room in a house all alone
he meows loudly wondering when you'll come home
he can hardly remember when he last had a meal
he misses the way being loved used to feel
wondering to himself if he's done something wrong
when you left home he didn't think you'd be long
he looks out the window hoping your alright
you don't think about him when you sleep at night
you could have found him a home that would have been nice
instead you left him alone to fight for his own life
he finds a place to lay down in a corner of the room
he still believes that you will come back for him soon

mamma teaches the babies how to catch a mouse
she remembers the day you threw them out of the house
she shows them where to hide from the owls at night
and when they see humans to stay out of sight
she has finally lost her faith in all of mankind
she always sleeps in the warmest place she can find
worried about her kittens she fights many a foe
scared to death of the day when she'll take the fatal blow
she walks with a limp from the worst of her fights
but her family is safe so that makes it alright
you shoo her away when you she her in the yard
she glares back at you as she hides under the car

You pit them against each other force them to fight
you laugh when they kill one another thinks its alright
they willing go into the pen all bravery and skill
if only they understood you don't care if they're killed
they do it all simply for the love of their master
there loyalty making their life such a disaster
even if they win they will be scarred forever
after they recover they again face this endeavor
they make money for you yet you don't care about them
you make them face death again and again
you should be put into a pen and sentenced to death
then maybe you would understand what they are faced with

all these innocent lives simply laid to waste
all these beautiful creatures who feel so misplaced
the people responsible for their love and their care
were the ones to betray them to a life so unfair
left out in the cold or dumped off in the street
left alone in a house forced to hunt or not eat
pitted against each other in a fight to the death
sad and all alone as they take their last breaths
wishing they had someone who would love them again
or wishing that there misery would just come to an end
will you step up and be an advocate for the ones in need
or will you ignore them and serve your own greed?
this is my plea for the ones who have no voice
would you help them at all if you had the choice?

Author: Melody Albright

Admin Comment by LM Fowler - Admin on January 19, 2009 at 10:39pm

Rescue Me

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 & down the streets, In rain, in heat & snow.
I ate what ever 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 gently say my name.
I never saw a loving glance, I was always on the run,
for people thought that hurting me really lots of fun.

And then one day I heard a voice, so gentle, kind & sweet
and arms so soft reached down to me & 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 know no fear."
You'll 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 & bathed & brushed my fur
she told me about the Rescue Group & 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 who share their home after you have been found.

And all the other folk are searching near & far
to find a perfect home for you, where you can be a star.
There is a family that is waiting patiently,
and pretty soon we'll find them, just you wait & see.

And then they'll join our circle, they 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 heart beat, I could tell they felt it too.
They said; "We've 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 & all you've given me"
But most of all protect the dogs in the pound & on the street.
And send a Rescue Person to lift them off their feet."

~Arlene Pace 1998