Poems & Writings

Note To Adopters

By Diane Morgan

 

  Note To adopters:  Lassie and Cleo and Rin Tin Tin and Toto don’t show up in rescue.  We don’t get the elegantly coiffed, classically beautiful, completely trained, perfectly behaved dog.  We get the leftovers. 

  Dogs that other people have incompetently bred, inadequately socialized, ineffectively “trained,” and badly treated.  Most Rescue dogs have had it.  They’ve been pushed from one lousy situation to another.  They’ve never had proper veterinary care, kind and consistent training, or sufficient company.

  They’ve lived outside, in a crate, or in the basement.  They’re scared, depressed and anxious.  Some are angry.  Some are sick.  Some have given up.  But we are Rescue and we don’t give up.  We never give up on a dog.  We know that a dog is a living being, with a spirit and a heart and feelings.  Our dogs are not commodities, things, or garbage.  They are part of sacred creation and they deserve as much love and care and respect as the next Westminster champion. 

  So please, please don’t come to rescue in the hopes of getting a “bargain” or indeed of “getting” anything.  Come to Rescue to give, to love, to save a life—and to mend your own spirit. 

  For Rescue will reward you in ways you never though possible.  I can promise you this—a rescue dog will make you a better person.

A Rescuer’s Creed

Susan M. Pearson

 

  I shall be a believer of all that is good in man

and of all that is deserving in animals.

  I shall plead for their lives, campaign for their safety and uphold their right to a natural death.

  I shall seek out the injured and the maimed, the unloved, and the abandoned and tend to them in their last days.

  I shall not forget their place in the hierarchy of life, nor that we walk in each other’s paths. 

  I shall bear witness to the wonder they bring into our lives and to the beauty they bestow upon our souls. 

  I shall renew their spirits when they are waning, bind their wounds when they bleed, cradle them when they whimper, and comfort them when they mourn.

  I shall be near them in their hour of greatest need—a companion and friend when the time has come.  I shall watch over them and console them and ask that the angels gather them in their arms. 

  From the creatures of the earth I shall learn the fruits of compassion and undying love, and I shall be called the beloved of God.  In their company I shall indeed be blessed. ~

Tribute To A Dog

Senator George Best, 1870

 

The one absolutely unselfish friend that a 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 remains.  When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the Heavens.~

Text Box: If It Should Be Text Box: If it should be that I grow weak, Text Box: And pain should keep me from my sleep, Text Box: Then you must do what must be done, Text Box: For this last battle cannot be won. Text Box: You will be sad, I understand; Text Box: Don't let your grief then stay your hand. Text Box: For this day more than all the rest, Text Box: Your love for me must stand the test. Text Box: We've had so many happy years - Text Box: What is to come can hold no fears. Text Box: You'd not want me to suffer so; Text Box: The time has come, so let me go. Text Box: Take me where my needs they'll tend Text Box: And please stay with me until the end. Text Box: Hold me firm and speak to me Text Box: Until my eyes no longer see. Text Box: I know in time that you will see Text Box: The kindness that you did for me.

Rescued Paws Animal sanctuary

 

A Haven for the homeless