Rescued Dogs

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 whatever 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 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 about 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 who check the pounds,

And those who share their homes

after you’ve been found.”

“And all the other folks

who 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.”

- Arlene Pace

Thanks to Databrokers for posting this on his blog.

They might drive me around the bend.  They might dig up the backyard.  They might tear the new dog bed to little bitty sheds.  But those mutts are mine now.  And I am there's for life.