A Dog`s Prayer
by Beth Norman Harris
Treat me kindly, my beloved master,
For no heart in all the world is more grateful for kindness than the loving heart of me.
Do not break my spirit with a stick,
For though I should lick your hand between the blows,
your patience and understanding will more quickly teach me the things you would have me do.
Speak to me often,
For your voice is the world`s sweetest music,
as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when your footsteps fall upon my waiting ear.
When it is cold and wet, please take me inside,
For I am now a domesticated animal, no longer used to the bitter elements.
And I ask no greater glory than the privilege of sitting at your feet beside the hearth.
Though had you no home, I would rather follow you through ice and snow
than rest upon the safest pillow in the warmest home in all the land.
Keep my pan filled with fresh water,
For although I should not reproach you were it dry,
I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.
Feed me clean food, that I may stay well,
to romp and play and to do your bidding,
to walk by your side, and stand ready, willing and, able
to protect you with my life
should your's be in danger.
And, beloved master,
Should the Great Master see fit to deprive me of my health or sight,
do not turn me away from you.
Rather hold me gently in your arms as skilled hands grant me the merciful boon of eternal rest-----
and I will leave you knowing with the last breath I drew,
my fate was ever safest in your hands.
Dogs
have been considered the servant of humanity throughout history
and embody the loving gentleness of
best friend
and the half-wild
protector
energy of territorial imperative.
Dogs are guardians, honor their gifts, and are loyal to the trust placed in their care.
Throughout history these noble animals have been the servant-soldier that guard against surprise attacks,
and often give warning signals of approaching danger.
They helped in the hunt and were a source of warmth on long winter nights.
Some varieties of dogs have been trained against their natures to be brutal and vicious.
Out of a sense of service, these breeds have adopted the attack-oriented desires of their owners.
They carry an altered genetic memory of what service means if they are to be approved of by their masters.
You can also see dogs that have had their fun-loving nature beaten out of them.
They cower and cry at the slightest look of disapproval,
but this is not their true nature.
Dogs are service-oriented animals,
and are devoted to their owners with a sense of loyalty that supersedes how they are treated.
If dogs are yelled at or paddled,
they still return love to the person who is the source of this mis-treatment.
This does not come from stupidity,
but rather from a deep and compassionate understanding of human shortcomings.
It is as if a tolerant spirit dwells in the heart of every canine that asks only to be of service.
Keep on cachin' in a free world!
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