I rescued a human today.

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively
into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her. I
wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.

As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had
in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked
today.? Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to
think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past

I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in
someone's life. She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at
me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort
her.

Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship. A
tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would
be
well.

Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly
jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to
always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that
radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.

I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.? So many more are out
there who haven't walked the corridors.? So many more to be saved. At least
I could save one.

I rescued a human today.

My name is Sam

Christmas Returns

Santa comes quietly long before dawn
While shops are still busy and lights are still on
While dinners are cooking and kitchens are warm
And children count presents they'll open by morn.

He slips past the trees in windows aglow
Through the gate to the back yard
As icy winds blow
To find the pup he brought last year
Chained up in the snow
And kneeling, he whispers,
"Are you ready to go?"

There are too many stops like this one tonight
Before the beginning of his regular flight
He leaves not a note or footprint in sight
Just an unbuckled collar
On a cold Christmas night.......

Lonely Dog

by: Arlene Pace

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 a 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 came 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".

For Sale - To a Good Home
Author unknown

I was born in the Summer a few years ago. Quite why I was born, I'll
never know.

Some folk who owned my mother, decided to breed. No reason I know of
except for their greed;

I know I was hungry, I know I was cold;
They sold me quite early at just five weeks old.

My number one owners seemed friendly at first, And life was quite good
till my bubble burst;

They started to argue, their marriage split up; And in the AD: "For
Sale - 4 months old pup".

Some folk arrived, the next ones in line. They treated me kind and life
was just fine.

But Master dropped dead, and she couldn't cope. So she sold me again
(I'll soon give up hope).

I now had a new home right up in the sky; We went up in the lift
fourteen floors high!
The new folk were kind but they left me all day; I was bursting to wee
and had nowhere to play.

It was boredom, I think, when I chewed up the chair; They agreed I
should go as it just wasn't fair.

The next home was good and I thought "this is it"! They started to show
and I won....well, a bit.

Then somebody told them that I had no bone. And in went the AD: "For
Sale...to a good home".

The next lot were dreadful, they wanted a guard; But I didn't know how,
although I tried hard.

One night they got burgled and I didn't bark; Tied up in that shed and
alone in the dark.

For four months I lay in that cold and dark shed; With only an old
paper sack for a bed.

A small dish of water all slimy and green; The state I was in, well, it
had to be seen!
I longed for destruction, and an end to the pain; But some new people
came and I went off again.

Well now I'm with Rescue and this home is good; There's walks in the
country and lots of good food;

There's kisses and cuddles to great me each day; But I dread the time
they will send me away.

But for now here I stand, skin and bone on all four; PLEASE......don't
let "ME" happen to any of yours.
 

Unlike most days at the Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned cold and gray. All the recent arrivals at the Bridge did not know what to think, as they had never seen such a day. But the animals who had been waiting longer for their beloved people to accompany them across the Bridge knew what was happening, and they began to gather at the pathway leading to the Bridge.

Soon an elderly dog came into view, head hung low and tail dragging. He approached slowly, and though he showed no sign of injury or illness, he was in great emotional pain. Unlike the animals gathered along the pathway, he had not been restored to youth and vigor upon arriving at the Bridge. He felt out of place, and wanted only to cross over and find happiness.

But as he approached the Bridge, his way was barred by an angel, who apologized and explained that the tired and broken-spirited old dog could not cross over. Only those animals accompanied by their people were allowed to cross the Bridge. Having nobody, and with nowhere else to turn, the dog trudged into the field in front of the Bridge.

There he found others like himself, elderly or infirm, sad and discouraged. Unlike the other animals waiting to cross the Bridge, these animals were not running or playing. They simply were lying in the grass, staring forlornly at the pathway across the Rainbow Bridge. The old dog took his place among them, watching the pathway and waiting yet not knowing for what he was waiting.

One of the newer dogs at the Bridge asked a cat who had been there longer to explain what was happening. The cat replied, "Those poor animals were abandoned, turned away, or left at rescue places, but never found a home on earth. They all passed on with only the love of a rescuer to comfort them. Because they had no people to love them, they have nobody to escort them across the Rainbow Bridge."

The dog asked the cat, "So what will happen to those animals?" Before the cat could answer, the clouds began to part and the cold turned to bright sunshine. The cat replied, "Watch, and you will see."

In the distance was a single person, and as he approached the Bridge the old, infirm and sad animals in the field were bathed in a golden light. They were at once made young and healthy, and stood to see what their fate would be. The animals who had previously gathered at the pathway bowed their heads as the person approached. At each bowed head, the person offered a scratch or hug. One by one, the now youthful and healthy animals from the field fell into line behind the person. Together, they walked across the Rainbow Bridge to a future of happiness and unquestioned love.

The dog asked the cat, "What just happened?"

The cat responded, "That was a rescuer. The animals gathered along the pathway bowing in respect were those who had found their forever homes because of rescuers. They will cross over when their people arrive at the Bridge. The arrival here of a rescuer is a great and solemn event, and as a tribute they are permitted to perform one final act of rescue. They are allowed to escort all those poor animals they couldn't place on earth across the Rainbow Bridge."

The dog thought for a moment, then said, "I like rescuers." The cat smiled and replied, "So does heaven, my friend. So does heaven."

Dear Santa,
    My boy wrote you last week.  I don't know if you give dogs and cats presents for Christmas but I thought maybe if you knew that I want the same you could work something out.
    My boy is the best boy in the whole world.  He feeds me, and waters me every day.  And when he gets home from school, we go out in the yard and play catch.  And he rubs my head just the right way, and ruffles the fur on my back in that special way that every dog knows means I love you forever. 
    I saw my boy for the last time Friday afternoon after school.  His mom and dad drove him and me, and my friend Callie the Calico cat to the shelter.  His mom and dad were crying, and he kept begging them not to take me.  He told them that he would give us his food, but his parents wouldn't agree – they said they didn't even know where his food would come from.
    See, his mom lost her job a couple of months ago and his dad got laid off two weeks ago.  They had tried to find a foster home for me with a rescue group but everyone was full.  Seems my boy's parents aren't the only ones with that problem.  They tried to keep me – they really did.  But now they are losing their house on Monday.  His mom and dad, the boy and his sister, and me and the cat just can't all live in the car.
    My boy was crying and hugging me when he had to say goodbye to me.  He even tried to get his mom and dad to leave him with me.  But the lady at the shelter said they couldn't take boys.  She was crying too when she look me and Callie into our new rooms.
    I don't like to see my boy cry.  He's been such a good boy and he says he just wants one thing for Christmas – his friends, me and Callie. 
    Dear Santa, please give me one thing for Christmas – a smile for my boy.  And if you can help his mom or dad find a job, then that would be the best thing in the world.  It probably won't be in time for me and Callie,  but maybe my boy can have another dog and cat. 
    There isn't anything else I need.  They give me food and water here, and they give me some love.  It's not the same as what I get from my boy, but they do try.  But they won't look me in the eye and they cry sometimes.  This morning they took my roommate out on a lead.  I thought maybe he'd gotten adopted or gone to rescue, whatever that means, but the lady kept telling him she was sorry, that he was a good pup. He licked her face to tell her it was ok, but she just cried harder.  So I think he's gone to the Rainbow Bridge.  I think I may be next in line because he came in at the same time I did and she won't look at me.
    So Santa, please give my boy a smile.  Make him happy again.  Make sure he's taken care and has food and a place to live. That's all I want. That and maybe you can find Callie a home.  Maybe you can find some boys and girls who have homes and whose parents have jobs who can adopt some of my friends here at the shelter too.  Most all of us would be forever grateful.
    Got to go now, she's coming for me.  Guess I am next.