Poetry For Pets

THE PROMISE

When our eyes first met you were tattered and torn.
Your spirit and pride were broken and worn.

I gave you a home with comfort and peace.
No more cramped quarters shared with a "beast".

Oh, what a great life! You were noble and true.
No more hurt. No more pain. This I promised to you.

The talk of the town! We WERE quite the pair!
You with your impressive fur coat and me with my long, brown hair.

"Handsome" they called us as we strolled down the street.
A lasting impression to all that we'd meet.

The years slowly passed as our bond quickly grew.
You were the friend of a lifetime. A title reserved only for few.

Then came the day when my heart was torn into two.
One half was mine and the other I left with you.

I kept the promise we had made that first day.
No more hurt. No more pain would ever come your way.

I will never forget your strong, powerful gate.
Your gentle, regal face. Your ability not to hate.

Goodbye, my "Gentleman". Your memories fill my heart.
Though only here in spirit we will NEVER be apart.

In Loving Memory of Roman
2002-2008

No sweeter baby
Will you ever see
Than my "Hokie Pokey"
Who God has sent to me.

He greets me at the door
Elated and filled with glee-
Then he wiggles and he whimpers
And "sprinkles" all over me!

I guess this is a compliment.
He loves me to a fault!
He springs into my lap
Using me as his vault!

Swimming's another story.
He loves to make a splash!
Unfortunaltely, right on top of me
Nearly drowning me in his path!

Oh, my "Hokie Pokey"!
No sweeter soul you'll see!
I love you with your faults
And your idiosyncracies!

TRIBUTE TO BUD LITE

He was dumped by the road, where he foraged the fields and dared not to hope for too much
Just a morsel of food, a cool soothing drink, and the warmth of a kind human touch.

Then fate intervened and a big-hearted gal put him into her blue Chevy van.
When she called me to see if I’d take in this stray, I said surely and gladly I can.

So I took home this dog that was skinny and scarred ‘neath his coat marked of black, white and brindle.
Through his grateful brown eyes that tugged at my heart, I sensed all of his fear start to dwindle.

He soon felt at home and greeted each guest with his trademark -- a full-body wiggle.
From the burliest guy to the tiniest tot, they would pet him and then start to giggle.

Oh, the adventures we’ve had as the years swiftly passed and the memories we loved to make!
From the short jaunts to town for an ice cream treat to our walks around Towne Park Lake.

While he liked to ride to any old place, our cross-country trip he loved most.
Those grateful brown eyes soaked up scene after scene, as he gazed from his captain’s chair post.

He’s set us a standard, this gentleman dog, for resilience, for love, trust and hope.
With a lung lost to cancer and a slug in his chest, he’s shown that he knows how to cope.

And now in his winter, his health has declined, and his time here with me will soon end.
So I want him to know it is I who am grateful -- my pillar, my Buddy, my friend.