Alone Again

I wish someone would tell me
what it is that I've done wrong.
Why I have to stay chained up
and left alone so long.
They seemed so glad to have one
when I came here as a pup.
There were so many things we'd do
while I was growing up.
They couldn't wait to train me
as a companion and a friend.
And told me how they'd never fear
being left alone again.
The children said they'd feed me
and brush me everyday.
They'd play with me and walk me,
if only I could stay.
But now the Family "Hasn't Time";
they say I often shed.
They do not want me in the house
not even to be fed.
The children never walk me,
they always say "Not Now!"
I wish that I could please them;
won't someone tell me how?
All I had, you see, was love;
I wish they would explain.
Why they said they wanted me,
then left me on a chain!!!
"Author Unknown

"Until we extend the circle of our compassion to all living things, we will not ourselves find peace."--Albert Schweitzer.

"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."                         -- Immanuel Kant

The poor dog, in life the firmest friend, "The first to welcome, foremost to defend." --Lord Byron, an epitaph for his dog Boatswain

A Prayer for the Animals

Hear our humble prayer, O God,
for our friends, the animals.
Especially, for animals who are suffering;
for any that are hunted or lost
or deserted or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put to death.
We entreat for them all thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them,
we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals
and so to share the blessings of the merciful.
- Albert Schweitzer

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life,
his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true,to the last beat
of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." -- Unknown

Tribute to a Dog

The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty. In health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master^s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer; he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remain. When riches take wing and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. -- Senator George Vest, 1870

When God made the Earth and sky,
The flowers and the trees,
He then made all the animals,
And all the birds and bees.

And when his work was finished,
Not one was quite the same,
He said, "I'll walk this earth of mine,
And give each one a name."

And so he traveled land and sea
And everywhere he went,
A little creature followed him,
Until it's strength was spent.

When all were named upon the earth,
And in the sky and sea,
The little creature said, " Dear Lord,
There's not one left for me."

The Father sniffed and softly said,
"I've left you 'til the end.
I've turned my own name back to front,
And called you Dog, my friend."