Pet Loss Poem: Generous and Loving as a Dog

Another poem to add to a group of pet loss poems. This was sent to me by Vicky- blog site at http://vicshill.wordpress.com/ who lives in Great Britian. She recently lost a very dear friend- her beloved dog. I’m so sorry for her loss.

To Become as Generous and Loving as a Dog

It came to me that every time I lose a dog,
they take a piece of my heart with them….
And every new dog who comes into my life,
gifts me with a piece of their heart.
If I live long enough, all the components of
my heart will be dog …
and maybe
I will become as generous and loving as they are.

author unknown

“A Dog’s Will” (click or double click to enlarge photo)

In The Dark You Can Find The Light

This is a poem that I found quite awhile ago and had it filed away in memory. It can be found in several web sites via Google. I am posting it especially for some blogging friends. Mary and Tim Livingston have had Golden Retrievers for many, many years. Mary’s beloved dog died far too young and this is a post just for her. Mary has the blog “The Backdoor Artist.” Tim’s blog is “The Forester.” Both blogs are wonderful with many posts and wonderful photos of and about the Golden’s in their life. I can not make the link thing work. But scroll down to where the blogs that I follow are at the bottom of this blog. If you click on the names of the blogs it will take you there. In the past if was working just by clicking. Since this blog is “having a spell” I’m not sure what it will do.

The poem is by an unknown author

The Legacy

When humans die, they make a will
To leave their homes and all they have to those they love.
I, too, would make a will if I could write.

To some poor wistful, lonely stray
I leave my happy home,
My dish, my cozy bed, my cushioned chair, my toy.
The well loved lap, the gentle stroking hand,
The loving voice,
The place I made in someone’s heart,
The love that at the last could help me to
A peaceful painless end
Held in loving arms.

If I should die, Oh do not say,
“No more a pet I’ll have, to grieve me by it’s loss”
Seek out some lonely, unloved dog
And give my place to him.
This is the legacy I leave behind –
’til all I have to give.

Author Unkown

Pet Loss: A Poem by Rudyard Kipling “The Power of a Dog”

“Time spent with our pets seems as fleeting as the life of a butterfly” Quote by Yvonne Daniel

I read about Neil Gaiman and his dog in The Scoop in The Dogster. Gaiman wrote about his dog in his personal blog on Tumblr. A touching story of how he rescued his beautiful pet from the side of the highway.
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2013/01 Niel Gaiman included Rudyard Kipling’s poem titled “The Power of a Dog. I feel this is one one of the best poems related to pet loss that I’ve read thus far.

“The Power of a Dog”

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
But when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie–
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.

When the fourteen years that nature permits
Are closing in asthma or tumors or fits
And the vet’s unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers, or loaded guns.
Then you will find–its your own affair
But–you’ve given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will
When the whimper of welcome is stilled (how still!)
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone–wherever it goes–for good,
You still discover how much you care
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.

We’ve sorrow enough in the natural way
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we’ve kept ’em the more do we grieve;
For when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short time loan is as bad as a long–
So why in Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

Poem by Rudyard Kipling

Note: Some search engine terms/questions were in reference to the year that Kipling wrote this poem. I have not been able to find, via Internet, what year the poem was written.

Post and photograph Yvonne

Pets And Grief (Part 3)

 

 

  

Little Coley remained wary and skittish

Coley, my wild child. 9/8/2011

 I said goodbye to the little cat in the pics above this past Monday. I actually had a little story and in my haste I managed to delete all that I had written. Oh well, I suppose it was not all that good anyhow. I was having difficulty putting into words, my feelings about what I consider a necessary evil. I know that euthanasia is the humane thing to do for an animal that no longer has any quality of life. But I have had many pets over the years euthanized and it never gets any easier. Coley lived in my house for 15 years and during that time she became a part of my life along with my other favorite and older pets.    

Actually I have been sad for the past several weeks because I could see her demise slowly approaching and then the last 3 days her time with me went ever so fast. Coley was cremated and her ashes scattered over the vast property of the crematory.  I know that her spirit lives on.    

My little black cat trapped as a 5 month feral kitten

 Post and photographs Yvonne  

 

Pets And Grief February 11, 2012 12:27am

 

I spoke with Dr. D. last evening and she said that she just would not look at the poem that I wrote in 1999 and posted as a blog. She had an original that I had sent to her and she wondered how she had lost the poem. I told her that I had hand written several thinking that I wanted to preserve my hard work.

She does not want to talk about Athena the cat and Holly the Border Collie, that I mentioned in a post titled My Dog Marley. She was miserable for a long time after the death of each of those very special pets. Holly and Athena were a stabilizing force  when ever things were not so good.  It is just too sad for her at times. She tries not to think about her dearest pets that have left this earth. There are lots of special stories about Holly and Athena and someday I will write about them.

I also have been very sad when a pet dies or one that was euthanized. I can barely look at their photos without crying. Some pets are just like that. We just never get over their death but yet we should realize that a dog or cat simply does not have a long life. That is the reality one must face when getting a pet. Losing a young pet from an injury, illness, or one that disappears is still something that I can not digest. A pet that lives a long life is a different matter, at least for me.  I cried over those as well and I still think about them with much sadness. I am very grateful for the time spent with any pet that was a significant part of my life.

A few of my pets are very special to me and they are getting on in age. The special ones are all past 10 years old. I have already begun to feel the sting of pain in my heart when I think about how much time I will have with them.

 After the loss of a pet and if you have love to spare, another pet will find a place in your heart. Somehow, somewhere and sometime in the most unexpected way. That is how Marley came into Dr. D’s life. She was walking in her neighborhood when she found an abandoned puppy. The first pet story that I wrote for this web site was about her finding a puppy that she named Marley who is now about 10 or 11 years old. Dr. D did not bond with Marley for almost a year because she just did not want to love another dog in the way she loved Holly.

A peculiar thing happens when one of my pets die. Invariably, a dog or cat will show up at my home as if to replace the departed pet. I’ve often wondered about that. I have no explanation for there is none. I just accept the dog or cat that comes my way and give the new one a place in my heart.

Post Yvonne