WHY DOGS DON'T LIVE AS LONG AS PEOPLE

     Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.
     I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure They felt Shane could learn something from the experience.
     The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.
     We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."  Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me - I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.
     He said, "Everybody is born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

A piece of my heart

Melissa sat on the floor, unable to sit straight and tall like her mother
had always
admonished her to do when she was a child. Today, it would be impossible.
And tomorrow...it probably wouldn't be possible then either. Her mind was
too busy thinking about the dog that lay across her lap.

When he came to be with her, he had no name. She remembered that day very
well.  The first sight of him was enough to break her heart into little
pieces. The woman, who had taken this dog from the rough streets where he
had lived, had tried to save him because she was unable to watch this young
dog find his own food in a dumpster outside the crack house where he lived.
Nobody cared that he was gone.

His fur was very thick; so thick that she had to wiggle her fingers down to
feel his bony body. And as she pulled her fingers away again, they were
coated in old dirt. Black and white, he was supposed to be. But on that day
he was beige and dust.

He sat in the back of her car panting continuously, ears laid outward for he
had lost his courage and couldn't keep them proud and tall. He sat
motionless, waiting and limp. But the thing that was the most disturbing was
the look in his eyes.  They were quiet eyes, sunken into his head - and they
watched her. They were alive with thought.  He was waiting for her to do
something "to" him.  Little did he know at the time that, instead, she would
"give" something to him.  She gave him one of the little broken pieces of
her heart. She reached out to stroke his head and he instinctively squinched
his eyes shut and dropped his head, waiting for the heavy hand. With that
little bit of movement she gave him another one of the broken pieces of her
heart.

She took him home and gave him a bath. She toweled him dry and brushed some
order back into his coat. For that, he was grateful and even though his own
heart was loaded with worms, he accepted yet another piece of her heart, for
it would help to heal his own.

"Would you like some water, big boy?" She whispered to him as she set down a
large bowl of cold well water. He drank it up happily. He had been
dehydrated for a long time and she knew it would take him most of the week
to re-hydrate. He wanted more water - but it was gone. Ah... that's how it
is, he thought to himself. But he was grateful for what he had been able to
get. "Would you like some more?" and she gave him another bowl along with
another little piece of her heart.

"I know that you are hungry. You don't have to find your own food anymore.
Here's a big bowl of good food for you. I've added some warm water and a
little piece of my heart."

Over the four months that he stayed with her, his health improved. The heart
full of worms was replaced piece by piece with little bits of her loving
heart. And each little piece worked a very special kind of magic.  When the
warmth of love and gentle caresses are added, the little broken pieces knit
together again and heal the container it resides in. That container becomes
whole again. She watched each little broken piece fill a gap in the gentle
dog until his quiet eyes radiated the light from the little pieces. You see,
kind words gently spoken turn the little pieces into illumination for the
spirit that resides within.  He rested beside her, happy to be with her
always. Never had he known such kindness, such gentle caresses; such love.
His health had returned, his spirit was playful as a young dog's should be
and he had learned about love.

Now his heart was full. The healing was complete. It was time to go. There
was another person who had another heart that was meant to be shared with
him. So she sat shapeless on the floor because all the broken pieces of her
heart were with the dog. It is difficult to sit tall when your heart is not
with you. She wrapped her arms around the dog that sat with tall, proud ears
for her. Lean on me, he said.

And she gave him one last thing that would keep him strong; that would keep
the pieces of her heart together long after he had gone on to live his new
life. She gave him her tears and bound them to the pieces with a simple
statement made from the ribbons of her heart.

"I love you, Joe." And Joe lived happily ever after.  Melissa sat on the
floor, straight and tall like her mother had always admonished her to do
when she was a child. Today, it would be possible. And tomorrow... it
probably would be possible too. Because her mind was busy thinking about
this, the next dog that lay across her lap.

Where did she get the heart to help yet another dog, you ask? Ahhh... it
came with the dog. They always bring a little bit of heart with them. And
when the rescuer breathes in that little bit of heart, it quickly grows and
fills the void left by the last dog.

Author: Grace Saalsaa

Greetings with love from a lonely dog!

I wish someone would tell me what It is that I've done wrong.
Why do I have to stay chained up and be left alone so long?
They seemed so glad to have me when I came here as a pup.
There were so many things we'd do while I was growing up.
The master said he'd train me as a companion and friend.
The mistress said she'd never fear to be left alone again.
The children said they'd feed and brush me every day.
They'd play with me and walk me if I would only stay.
But now the master "hasn't time." The mistress says I shed.
She doesn't want me in the house, not even to be fed.
The children never walk with 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 mine, and left it alone on a chain?
Edith Lassen Johnson