# A Sad Poem



## havanesebyha (Apr 25, 2007)

A Rescue Dog's Christmas Poem

Tis the night before Christmas and all through the town,
every shelter is full - we are lost, but not found,
Our numbers are hung on our kennels so bare,
we hope every minute that someone will care,
They'll come to adopt us and give us the call,
"Come here, Max and Sparkie - come fetch your new ball!!
But now we sit here and think of the days...
we were treated so fondly - we had cute, baby ways,
Once we were little, then we grew and we grew
now we're no longer young and we're no longer new.
So out the back door we were thrown like the trash,
they reacted so quickly - why were they so rash?
We "jump on the children:, "don't come when they call",
we "bark when they leave us", climb over the wall.
We should have been neutered, we should have been spayed,
now we suffer the consequence of the errors THEY made.
If only they'd trained us, if only we knew...
we'd have done what they asked us and worshiped them, too.
We were left in the backyard, or worse -let to roam-
now we're tired and lonely and out of a home.
They dropped us off here and they kissed us good-bye...
"Maybe someone else will give you a try."
So now here we are, all confused and alone...
in a shelter with others who long for a home.
The kind workers come through with a meal and a pat,
with so many to care for, they can't stay to chat,
They move to the next kennel, giving each of us cheer...
we know that they wonder how long we'll be here.
We lay down to sleep and sweet dreams fill our heads...
of a home filled with love and our own cozy beds.
Then we wake to see sad eyes, brimming with tears - 
our friends filled with emptiness, worry, and fear.
If you can't adopt us and there's no room at the Inn - 
could you help with the bills and fill our food bin?
We count on your kindness each day of the year - 
can you give more than hope to everyone here?
Please make a donation to pay for the heat...
and help get us something special to eat.
The shelter that cares for us wants us to live,
and more of us will, if more people will give.

--Author Unknown


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## Tritia (Nov 17, 2007)

This KILLS me. Seriously...breaks my heart. My youngest and I actually go every wk to the shelter to bring toys to the pups, and play in the dog park with a few of the big dogs. We have a blast.
We're on our way in about 45 mins to a different shelter this morning (where we rescued a basset a couple wks ago) because there's a little guy I wanna look at that I know is being put down tomorrow  
We are considering fostering at this time. As I really am not ready to permanently add a third dog to our family. And as much as I'd love another fluffy, non shedding, non dog smelling pup, lol. But, I really think our next dog will be from the shelter.


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## havanesebyha (Apr 25, 2007)

This poem brought tears streaming down my face when I read it, so very sad and so very true! I am such an animal person and would love to work over at Arf - where we go for agility every week for training. If it were only me I would adopt several, but my DH is a poop and halts everything. I should have been a vet! Our trainer has rescued 5 dogs now and they are all trained in agility ~ she is a foster mom too! I'm going to look into sponsoring some of these guys for the holidays instead of buying some dodads or more toys for Kohana.


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## mckennasedona (Feb 20, 2007)

Libby, this breaks my heart too. I know just how you feel. I want to rescue them all. Someone brought them into this world, both the purebreds and the mutts, and they all deserve love and care. I do give to my local shelter and each week they list their shelter needs in the paper so we often provide cat food, dog food, rugs, etc. After I retire from the corporation I work for now, my post-retirement FUN job will be something to do with animals.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

That was great to share and reminds us all to take special care of our dogs and always have a back up plan! I can't go into shelters very often, I emotionally go crazy. If I wasn't married, I would be on the news living with tons and tons of dogs. Fostering is a great way to really give back and I recommend everyone do it at least once. A lot of the dogs just need to learn rules and get a balance on living with two legged creatures. I went to the shelter right before I moved to do an id check and it was so busy no one could help me so I had to walk up and down aisles which I told myself I wouldn't do, I would just get in and out-low and behold the havanese that was there was in the manager's office so I couldn't find her. I cried all the way home. There were so many dogs that just wanted a home and had potential to be a great family member.

Amanda


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## Julie (Feb 8, 2007)

I also am a real animal nut.I love them all,and would find it hard not to bring them all home.Instead,I donate.I got the Girl Scouts last year to make it part of a lock in.They brought food,donations etc.Then we baked dog treats and made adoption bundles.We cut handkerchiefs and wrapped toys in them that I bought from PetEdge.It was really a fun thing to do.I also saw a need for cat blankets for the ARL in Des Moines----so I sewed a ton of scraps together and cleaned up my fabric stash,sewing them kitty snuggle blankets.They really were appreciative....it was nice,and fun for me to do.


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

Tears are rolling down my face. That is so sad. All my life I've rescued dogs. My hav is the first I didn't get from a shelter or by finding it abandoned and hungry. I contacted a shelter out on the island and told them I want to do something on my web site to bring more attention to the dogs who need adopting and to bring more attention to the wonderful work they do. They're a no kill facility.

Breaks my heart. I too would take them all in if I could.


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## casperkeep (May 16, 2007)

That poem is sooo sad....it just breaks my heart to see them in the shelters....where I live my hubby and I wanted to foster and they said that our dogs could not be in contact with the animals we foster...so that meant that they had to be crated when either mine are out in the house or mine crated when the foster animals were out in the house. I do not agree with that so we are just going to find another option...I donate money to them though!!


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

This poem should come with a tissue disclaimer. 
This is so very sad.


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

It is so sad! It is so beautifully written to express the heart wrenching emotions.


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