Once I Was A Lonely Dog

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 and down the streets,
in rain in heat and 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 to gently say my name.
I never saw a loving glance,
I was always on the run.
For people thought that hurting me
was really lots of fun.
And then one day I heard a voice
So gentle, kind and sweet,
And arms so soft reached down to me
And 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 will know no fear."
"You will 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
And bathed and brushed my fur
She told me 'bout the rescue group
And 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 that share their home
after you've been found."
"And all the other folk
are searching near and far.
To find the perfect home for you,
where you can be a star."
She said, "There is a family,
that's waiting patiently,
and pretty soon we'll find them,
just you wait and see."
"And then they'll join our circle
they'll 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 have 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
and all you've given me.
But most of all protect the dogs
in the pound and on the street.
And send a Rescue Person
to lift them off their feet."

~Arlene Pace (September 18, 1998)

Creation Matters - Animals Matter - Dogs Matter

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King, Jr.

Why We Have the Blessing of the Animals

“Have you ever wondered why many churches offer a special blessing for animals around the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology? Fr. Jacek Orzechowski, OFM (Holy Name Province) offers his reflections:

“People bring their pets for a blessing because they want to thank God for their non-human companions, for their friendship and beauty. But there is an even more important reason to bless animals, especially at this time of the unprecedented ecological crisis that we face. First, the blessing of animals reminds us that all creatures have been created and blessed by God. Their worth extends far beyond a mere commodity value that we humans ascribe to them. Second, the blessing of the animals offers us an opportunity to strengthen within us a sense of compassion for all God’s creatures. It can also reawaken in us our religious responsibility to protect them – much like Noah did – from a disaster.”
http://franciscanaction.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/a-franciscan-blessing/

Sophie & Nikki

The last week has been very sad. Last Sunday, on September 25, 2011, Sophie went to Rainbow Bridge. She was one of the most beautiful fosters I ever had the privilege of caring for. This sweet girl lost her vision last year and then her hearing. The last couple of weeks of her life, she was very sick, losing weight and suffering greatly. Her mom and dad had to make the most difficult decision of all and that was to decide in love and mercy to return her to the breath of God where she is well and healthy again.

Then tonight, Nikki's mom called me to say that Nikki died unexpectantly in her sleep last night, resting on a pillow in her mama’s bed, like the princess she was. Nikki also was one of the most beautiful fosters I ever had the privilege of caring for. Both these girls did not have the most loving situation in the beginning of their lives, but they were adopted into the best of all homes. God bless Nikki and Sophie, and God bless those who adopted them.

Tonight Nikki, Sophie, Juniper, Teddy, Molly, Poppy and Lucy are playing, young and well at Rainbow Bridge where my husband Tom looks after them.