To Foster Families Everywhere

 Your home may have been
 The first kind one I'd ever seen;
 Your voice the first to teach, to praise,
To guide me through confusing days.
You're the one who taught to me
What the life of a good dog ought to be.
Your patient persistence all the while
May have won my very first doggie smile.
And now that I am off to roam
With the family of my "forever" home,
Yours is the home I will always dream of;
Your gentle hands, your smiling love,
The way you coaxed tangles out of my coat,
The sound of your voice, yes, every note.
If they learn to love me the way that you do
I will know that I owe my acceptance to you.
Though my paws may wander far away,
Yours is the home where I learned to stay.

~ Karen Ellery, 2000