Gentle puppy,
You weren’t always that way.
There was a time
When you were the most
Dangerous ankle-biter on the block!
Let our niece and nephew chase you
Into a corner, and you were a force
To be reckoned with!
And, oh, how you loved to steal food!
We would catch you on a chair
Stretching your neck and your tongue
To lick the dinner plates on the table.
Then there was the M&Ms that
Mysteriously were losing their color.
We thought the sun was doing it,
Until we spotted you licking them one day.
And we never did get you completely
House-trained. Many were the times
That you got popped on the behind
For leaving a “deposit” in the house.
Your breath was atrocious,
Because your teeth were bad.
The vet gave you until 15.
You made it to 16, proving him wrong.
Couldn’t see or hear anymore,
Couldn’t hold your bowels,
Couldn’t swallow dry dog food,
But you were a survivor. You showed
You still had fight in you when
You got bathed (which was often).
You wrestled with your blankets,
Like you always had, growling away.
After all your feistiness,
You could be so sweet,
Snoozing away the day.
You liked things quiet.
Never did get used to the vacuum.
You were like Don Quixote, charging
at the windmill. You gave up
No ground to your enemy!
And now, after all is over,
You dance and play
At Rainbow Bridge
With Miles, Sunni, Toby and Al dog.
You suffer no more.
And that is the way it should be,
For a faithful pet like you
Deserves the best that God can offer.
Stumbling along the sidewalk 