Here In This House...

Here in this house...

I will never know the loneliness I hear in the barks of the other dogs "out there."
I can sleep soundly, assured that when I wake, my world will not have changed.

I will never know hunger, or the fear of not knowing if I'll eat.

I will not shiver in the cold, or grow weary from the heat.

I will feel the sun's heat and the rain's coolness, and be allowed to smell all that can reach my nose.

My fur will shine and never be dirty or matted.

Here in this house...

There will be an effort to communicate with me on my level.

I will be talked to, and even if I don't understand, I can enjoy the warmth of the words.

I will be given a name so that I may know who I am among many.

My name will be used in joy and I will love the sound of it!

Here in this house...

I will never be used as a substitute for anything I am not.

I will never to used to improve peoples' images of themselves.

I will be loved because I am who I am, not someone's idea of who I should be.

I will never suffer for someone's anger, impatience, or stupidity.

I will be taught all the things I need to know to be loved by all.

If I do not learn my lessons well, they will look to my teacher for blame.

Here in this house...

I can trust arms that hold, hands that touch... knowing that no matter what they do, they do it for the good of me.

If I am ill, I will be doctored.

If I am scared, I will be calmed.

If I am sad, I will be cheered.

No matter what I look like, I will be considered beautiful and thought to be of value.

I will never be cast out because I am too old, too ill, too unruly, or not cute enough.

My life is a responsibility, not an afterthought.

I will learn that humans can almost, sometimes, be as kind as fair as dogs.

Here in this house...

I will belong.

I will be home.

~Laura Cathleen Patterson

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Photo note: The brown-eyed beauty pictured above is Elenor, one of the many wonderful dogs waiting patiently for her "house" at Oakland Animal Services in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have met Elenor in person, and she is as warm and friendly as they come! If this poem has moved you, please consider opening your heart and home to a deserving shelter dog like Elenor...