Wordless Wednesday: Joy in a Fur Coat

 My girl, Rosie.

"I am joy in a wooly coat, 

come to dance into your life, 

to make you laugh!"  

~ Julie Church

Dedicated to my Dog Loving Mom

Blackie Duke and Mom 

My love of dogs began in the womb thanks to my mother.  

When I was born, I joined a middle aged furry brother, Blackie Duke, who was a Labrador Retriever.  He was just the first of my furry siblings; I never have had human ones.

My mom was a "crazy dog lady" long before it became "fashionable."  My canine siblings enjoyed birthday parties that rivaled my own.

She was a lifelong supporter of animal welfare and, in fact, all of her dogs were rescues.

Mom passed away suddenly this past Saturday afternoon.  By now she's had many a joyous reunion with all of her dog children and dog grandchildren.

I dedicate the following poem to the memory of my dog loving mom.  Except for the sweet wine - she spent her money on dog treats - she could have written this herself.

When I Am Old 

I shall wear turquoise and soft gray sweatshirts

and a bandana over my silver hair

and I shall spend my Social Security checks on sweet wine and my dogs

and sit in my house on my well-worn chair

and listen to my dogs breathing.

I will sneak out in the middle of a warm summer night

and take my dogs for a run, if my old bones will allow

and when people come to call, I will smile and nod as I show them my dogs

and talk of them and about them.

The Ones so Beloved of the Past and the Ones so Beloved of Today.

I still will work hard cleaning up after them and mopping and feeding them

and whispering their names in a soft, loving way.

I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat, like a jewel

and I will be an embarrassment to all

and my family, who have not yet found the peace

in being free to have dogs as your Best Friends.

These friends, who always wait, at any hour, for your foot fall

and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep,

to greet you as if you are a god.

with warm eyes full of adoring love and hope that you will stay

and kiss their dear sweet heads

and whisper to their very special company.

I look in the Mirror

and see I am getting old.

This is the kind of woman I am

and have always been.

Loving dogs is easy, they are a part of me, accept me for who I am.

My dogs appreciate my presence in their lives.

When I am old this will be important to me.

You will understand when you are old

and if you have dogs to love, too.

Author Unknown

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Happy New Year from the Talking Dogs

All of us at Talking Dogs and For Love of a Dog 

wish you a very happy new year.  

Though I really don't believe in new year's resolutions, I have made a promise to myself to:  work less; play with my dogs more.

In that spirit I offer you the following...

I AM YOUR DOG - Author Unknown

I am your dog, and I have a little something I would like to whisper in your ear.
I know that you humans lead busy lives. Some have to work. Some have children to raise. It always seems like you are running here and there, often much too fast, often never noticing the truly grand things in life.

Look down at me now, while you sit there at your computer. See, the way my dark brown eyes look at yours. They are slightly cloudy now. That comes with age. The gray hairs are beginning to ring my soft muzzle.

You smile at me; I see love in your eyes. What do you see in mine? Do you see a spirit? A soul inside, who loves you as no other in the world could? A spirit that would forgive all trespasses of prior wrongdoing for just a simple moment of your time?

That is all I ask. To slow down, if even for a few minutes to be with me.
So many times, you have been saddened by the words you read on that screen, of others of my kind, passing. Sometimes we die young and oh so quickly, sometimes so suddenly it wrenches your heart out of your throat. Sometimes, we age so slowly before your eyes that you may not even seem to know until the very end, when we look at you with grizzled muzzles and cataract clouded eyes. Still the love is always there, even when we must take that long sleep, to run free in a distant land.

I may not be here next week. Someday you will shed the water from your eyes, that humans have when deep grief fills their souls, and you will be angry at yourself that you did not have just "One more day" with me. Because I love you so, your sorrow touches my spirit and grieves me. We have NOW, together.

So come, sit down here next to me on the floor, and look deep into my eyes. What do you see? If you look hard and deep enough we will talk, you and I, heart to heart. Come to me not as "alpha" or as "trainer" or even "Mom or Dad," come to me as a living soul and stroke my fur and let us look deep into one another's eyes, and talk.

I may tell you something about the fun of chasing a tennis ball, or I may tell you something profound about myself or even life in general. You decided to have me in your life because you wanted a soul to share such things with.
Someone very different from you, and here I am.

I am a dog, but I am alive. I feel emotion, I feel physical senses, and I can revel in the differences of our spirits and souls. I do not think of you as a "Dog on two feet"- I know what you are. You are human, in all of your quirkiness, and I love you still.

Now, come sit with me on the floor. Enter my world, and let time slow down if only for 15 minutes. Look deep into my eyes, and whisper to my ears. Speak with your heart, with your joy, and I will know your true self.

We may not have tomorrow, and life is oh so very short.

--Love, (on behalf of canines everywhere)
Author Unknown