Poems about dogs

[CMike]

Poems In Praise of Dogs

ONE MAN'S SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO A DOG

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 wintery 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 sores
and wounds 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 it's journey
through the heavens.
If misfortune drives the master forth
an outcast in the world, friendless
and homeless, the faithful dog asks
no higher privilege than that of
accompanying him to guard against
danger, to fight against his enemies.

And when the last scene of all comes,
and death takes the master in it's
embrace, and his body is laid away in
the cold ground, no matter if all other
friends pursue their way, there by the
graveside will the noble dog be found,
his head between his paws, his eyes sad,
but open in alert watchfulness,
faithful and true, even in death.


-From a speech given by
Former Senator George Graham Vest
of Missouri. Delivered in 1870 when he
was acting as a lawyer in a suit against
a man who had killed the dog of his
client. -- He won the case.

JUST MY DOG

He is my other eyes that can see above
the clouds; my other ears that hear above
the winds. He is the part of me that can
reach out into the sea.

He has told me a thousand times over that
I am his reason for being: by the way he
rests against my leg; by the way he thumps
his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he
shows his hurt when I leave without taking him.
(I think it makes him sick with worry when he
is not along to care for me.)

When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive.
When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile.
When I am happy, he is joy unbounded.
When I am a fool, he ignores it.
When I succeed, he brags.
Without him, I am only another man. With him,
I am all-powerful.
He is loyalty itself.
He has taught me the meaning of devotion.
With him, I know a secret comfort and a
private peace. He has brought me understanding
where before I was ignorant.
His head on my knee can heal my human hurts.
His presence by my side is protection against
my fears of dark and unknown things.
He has promised to wait for me...
henever...wherever--in case I need him.
And I expect I will--as I always have.


He is just my dog.

--- Gene Hill ---


A DOG'S PRAYER

Treat me kindly , my beloved master,
for no heart in all the world is more
grateful for kindness than the loving
heart of me.

Do not break my spirit with a stick,
for although I should lick your hand between blows, your patience and
understanding will more quickly teach
me the things you would have be do.

Speak to me often, for your voice is
world’s sweetest music, as you must know
by the fierce wagging of my tail when your
footstep falls upon my waiting ear.

When it is cold and wet, please take me
inside, for I am now a domesticated animal,
no longer used to bitter elements.
And I ask no greater glory than the
privilege of sitting at your feet beside
the hearth. Though had you no home,
I would rather follow you through ice and
snow than rest upon the softest pillow in
the warmest home in the land, for you are
my god and I am your devoted worshipper.

Keep my pan filled with fresh water,
for although I should not reproach you
were it dry, I cannot tell you when I
suffer thirst. Feed me clean food so
that I may stay well to romp and play
and do your bidding, to walk by your
side, and stand ready willing and able
to protect you with my life should your
life be in danger.

And beloved master, should the Great Master
see fit to deprive me of my health or sight,
do not turn me away from you. Rather,
hold me gently in your arms as skilled hands
grant me the merciful boon of eternal rest...
and I will leave you knowing with the last
breath I draw, my fate was every safest
in your hands.

--- Beth Norman Harris ---

 

[Sunshine]

Does it have to be doggerel?

 

[eots]

One day when I was home alone
Just me and the dog holding the phone
I gave my pal a piece of cheese
It was limberger the cheese that pleezes

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh he had to go
Oo oo oo oo oo oo oo Number 2
Ar ar ar ar ar ar ar it was to far
Or or or or or or or to the door

There was shit and piss all over the place
My dog Wallace had gone to pieces
There was a revolting oder in the air
It was limberger the cheese that pleezes



[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE7-eAMeOis]Dayglo Abortions - Dogfarts - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Mr. H.]

Dog
on a sheet of glass

bone...
chewed

ass
scratched

what am I doing here?
It's all so...

queer

 

[Sunshine]

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
My dog is a bitch,
And so are you.

 

[Katzndogz]

Dear God, please send me somebody who'll care!
I'm tired of running, I'm sick with despair.
My body is aching; it's so racked with pain,
and dear God I pray, as I run in the rain.
That someone will love me and give me a home,
a warm cozy bed and a big juicy bone.

My last owner tied me all day in the yard
sometimes with no water, and God that was hard.
So I chewed my leash, and I ran away.
To rummage in garbage and live as a stray.
But now God, I'm tired and hungry and cold,
and I'm so afraid that I'll never grow old.

They've chased me with sticks and hit me with stones,
while I run the streets just looking for bones!
I'm not really bad, God, please help if you can,
or I have become just a "Victim of Man!"
I'm wormy dear God and I'm ridden with fleas,
and all that I want is an Owner to please!

If you find one for me God, I'll try to be good,
and I won't chew their shoes, and I'll do as I should.
I'll love them, protect them and try to obey....
when they tell me to sit, to lie down or to stay!
I don't think I'll make it too long on my own,
cause I'm getting so weak and I'm so all alone.

Each night as I sleep in the bushes I cry,
cause I'm so afraid God, that I'm going to die.
And I've got so much love and devotion to give,
that I should be given a new chance to Live!
So dear God, please answer my prayer,
and send me someone who will REALLY care.

 

[Katzndogz]

On the morning of September 11, 2001, there was an unprecedented amount of activity at the Rainbow Bridge. Decisions had to be made. They had to be made quickly. And, they were. An issue, not often addressed here, is the fact that many residents really have no loved ones for whom to wait. Think of the pups who lived and died in hideous puppy mills. No one on earth loved or protected them. What about the many who spent unhappy lives tied in backyards? And the ones who were abused...whom are they to wait for? We don't talk about that much up here. We share our loved ones as they arrive, and are happy to do so. But we all know there is nothing like having your very own person who thinks you are the most special pup in the Heavens.
On this particular Tuesday morning a request rang out for pups not waiting for specific persons to volunteer for special assignment. An eager, curious crowd excitedly surged forward, each pup wondering what the assignment would be. They were told by a solemn voice that unexpectedly, all at once, over 7000 loving people had left Earth long before they were ready. All the pups, as all pups do, felt the humans' pain deep in their own hearts. Without hearing more, there was a clamoring among them.

"May I have one to comfort?"
"I'll take two...I have a big heart!"
"I have been saving kisses forever!"

One after another they came forward, begging for assignment. One cozy-looking fluffy pup asked hesitantly, "Are there any children coming? I would be very comforting for a child ‘cuz I'm soft and squishy and I always wanted to be hugged."

A group of Dalmatians came forward asking to meet the firefighters and be their friends. The larger working breeds offered to greet the police officers and make them feel at home. Little dogs volunteered to do what they do best: cuddle and kiss.

Dogs who had never had a kind word or a pat on the head while they were on Earth stepped forward and said, "I will love any human who needs love."

Then all the dogs, no matter where on Earth they originally came from, rushed to the Rainbow Bridge and stood waiting, overflowing with love to share, each tail wagging an American flag

 

[Katzndogz]

It was another Christmas day
And God looked out to see
What scripture promise came to pass,
What promise would not be.

And turning aside, HE turned his eyes
To those who'd dwell inside,
To those who'd warm by Heaven's hearth
And those who'd be denied.

And HE saw a man at St. Peter's gate,
A mongrel dog at his feet,
And a line that reached to the dark of night
As far as the eye could see.

And St. Peter looked at the disheveled two
And challenged the wretch to say,
What deeds he'd done, what praise he'd won
To walk in Heaven's way.

And the vagrant stood in his shabby robe
And not one word he spoke,
As though he heard not a single word
This man in the tattered cloak.

"What deeds have you done to think you've won
The grace of Heaven's line?
What honors earned? What evils spurned?
Pray help me be inclined."

But the wretched soul and his shepherd hound
Stayed on without a sound
As though no deed could come to mind,
As though no reason found.

"Can you not find one deed so fine,
To merit entrance here?
Can none attest some honored quest,
A challenge still unclear?"

And still he stood and but held the leash
That stayed the mongrel hound.
Until he knelt to feel the ground
And kiss the furry crown.

As love was cast in skin and bone,
He held the dog around,
And Heaven watched and Heaven judged
This vagabond and his hound.

"What seeds were sowed that a flower'd grow
When you'd depart the scene?
A single tree? One slave made free?
One clean and shining sea?

Was not one life made free of strife

Along the path you strolled?
Was not one child encouraged to smile?
No good that can be told?"

And all looked on at the vagabond
Who held the unkempt hound.
But not one voice to sway the choice,
No plaintiff voice was found.

And when at last, his patience past,
St. Peter bid unkind
And motioned on to the dark beyond,
"No reason you can find?"

"Not one but simple virtue be
That all of us may see?
Not one redeeming act of faith
Did bring you here to me?

In all your time can you not find
One voice for yours to plea?
In all your time can you not find
One voice to vouch for thee?"

And now at last his time though past,
The vagabond turned to speak;
And his eyes were filled with tears that spilled
And coursed the craggy cheeks.

And from his heart the speech did start
To argue not his sake,
But to plead the cause of the mongrel dog,
That lay in Heaven's wake.

"Perhaps it ain't for me to see
The paradise within.
I was a simple soul on earth
This hound's my only kin.

But if the children's smiles count,
His cup's filled to the brim.
Oh, I can vouch for this hound, your grace.
I can vouch for him.

You should’ a seen them laugh and run
When he was all their game.
You should’ a seen the love he gave
And never once complain.

And when the tide of time arose
And naught was there to eat,
He shared the taste of an empty plate
And stayed at these failing feet.

It ain't for me," he whispered soft,

"It ain't for me I ask.
But don't deprive this poor old hound

For what his master lacks.

If caring and sharing and loyalty
Are virtues of your size,
Consider one who lacks of none,
Let Heaven be his prize.

It matters not what comes of me,
Or what may come about.
But it just ain't fair. It wouldn't be fair
To keep my poor hound out.

No friend has ever been so true.
No man has walked a line,
Who never strayed, but not this dog,
This hound that I call mine."

His fingers stroked the shaggy coat
And the dog licked back the hand;
And as much was said in the silence there,
Than since God's quest began.

And then abrupt, the hound looked up
And labored with its head
To lick this face of human grace,
This man of tattered thread.

And suddenly a calm would be
That tethered every sound.
And a warm breeze blew that embraced the two,
This vagabond and his hound.

And St. Peter turned to the mist beyond
And paused with uplifted head.
To heed the voice of Almighty God
And to do as HE has said.

I've set the task and I have asked
For virtues held and shared.
To dwell in a world of every kind
And for every kind have cared.

And now I've seen dimensions dreamed
That seldom I've seen before,
A simple man and his faithful hound,
Denied at my own door?"

With pen in hand, St. Peter began
To enter on his list,
The names of those whom God had chosen
To dwell in Heaven's bliss.

And one belonged to a vagabond
And the other he called his kin;
The man who vouched for an old hound dog
And the hound dog who vouched for him.