Poems

Just a Dog

Before you contact us and ask for “just a dog”, read the following:

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.” They don’t understand the distance travelled, 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 phases like “just a friend,” “just a sunrise,” or “just a promise.” “Just a dog” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. “Just a dog” brings out the compassion and patience that make 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.” So the next time you hear the phrase “just a dog.” just smile, because they “just don’t understand.”

For Sale to a Good Home

I was born in the summer,
A few years ago.
Quite why I was born,
I’ll never know.

Some folk owned my mother.
They decided to breed.
No reason I know of,
Except for their greed.

I know I was hungry.
I know I was cold.
And they sold me quite early
At just five weeks old.

Owners number one,
Seemed friendly at first
And life was quite good,
Till my bubble burst.

They started to argue.
Their marriage split up.
And in went the advert:
‘For sale: 4-month pup’.

Some more folk arrived.
The next ones in line.
They treated me kindly,
And life was just fine.

But the Master dropped dead.
And she couldn’t cope.
So she sold me again
(I’ll soon give up hope).

I now had a new home,
Up in the sky.
We went in a lift,
Fourteen floors high.

The next home was good,
And I thought, ‘This is it,’
They started to show,
And I won - well, a bit.

Then somebody told them,
That I had no bone.
And in went the advert:
‘For Sale - to good home’.

The next lot were dreadful.
They wanted a guard.
But I didn’t know them
although I tried hard.

One night they got burgled.
And I didn’t bark.
Tied up in that shed.
Alone in the dark.

For four months I lay,
In that cold, dark shed.
With only an old paper sack
for a bed.

A small dish of water,
All slimy and green.
The state I was in, well,
It had to be seen.

I longed for destruction.
An end to the pain.
But some new people came,
And I went off again.

Well now I’m with rescue.
And this home is good.
There’s walks in the country,
And lots of food.

A Dog’s Letter

Before you contact us and ask for “just a dog”, read the following:

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.” They don’t understand the distance travelled, 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 phases like “just a friend,” “just a sunrise,” or “just a promise.” “Just a dog” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. “Just a dog” brings out the compassion and patience that make 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.” So the next time you hear the phrase “just a dog.” just smile, because they “just don’t understand.”

If It Should Be...

If it should be I grow frail and weak,
And pain should wake me from my sleep,
Then you must do what must be done
For this last battle can’t be won

You will be sad - I understand
Don’t let your grief then stay your hand;
For this day more than all the rest,
Your love and friendship stand the test

We’ve had so many happy years;
What is to come will hold no fears
You’d not want me to suffer, so
When the time comes, let me go.

Take me where my needs they’ll tend,
Only stay with me ’til the end,
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.

I know in time you too will see,
It is kindness you do to me;
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I’ve been saved

Do not grieve that it should be you
Who has to decide this thing to do;
We’ve been so close, we two these years,
Don’t let your heart hold any tears.