(From a rescued dog to YOU.)
I would've died that day if not for you.
I would've given up on life if not for your kind eyes.
I would've used my teeth in fear if not for your gentle hands.
I would have left this life believing that all humans don't care,
Believing there is no such thing as fur that isn't matted,
skin that isn't flea bitten, good food and enough of it,
beds to sleep on, someone to love me,
to show me I deserve love just because I exist.
Your kind eyes, your loving smile, your gentle hands
Your big heart saved me...
You saved me from the terror of the pound,
Soothing away the memories of my old life.
You have taught me what it means to be loved.
I have seen you do the same for other dogs like me.
I have heard you ask yourself in times of despair
Why you do it...
When there is no more money, no more room, no more homes
You open your heart a little bigger,
stretch the money a little tighter
Make just a little more room... to save one more like me.
I tell you with the gratitude and love that shines in my eyes
In the best way I know how
Reminding you why you go on trying.
I am the reason
The dogs before me are the reason
As are the ones who come after.
Our lives would've been wasted, our love never given
We would die if not for you.
- Unknown
The Meaning of Rescue
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.
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 heartbeat,
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.
- Unknown
ROMANTIC
