From A Dogs Point of View (Short Story)

Just found this. I don't really know why but it really got to me. Maybe because we just had to put my dog to sleep because he had extreme cancer. The author is unknown.





From a dogs point of view:

When I was a puppy, I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh. You called me your child, and despite a number of chewed shoes and a couple of murdered pillows I became your best friend. Whenever I was bad, you'd shake your finger and me and ask "How could you? - But then you'd relent and roll me over for a belly rub. My housebreaking took a while longer than expected, because you were terribly busy, but we worked on it together. 

I remember those nights of nuzzling you in bed and listening to your confidences and secret dreams, and I believed that life couldn't get any more perfect. We went along for walks and runs in the park, car rides, stops for ice cream (I only got the cone because "ice cream is bad for dogs" you said), and took long naps in the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day. 

Gradually you began spending more time at work and on your career and more time searching for a human mate. I waited patiently, comforted you through heartbreaks and disappointments, never chided you about bad decisions, and romped with glee at your homecomings, and then you fell in love. She, now is your wife and is not a "dog person", still i welcomed her into our home, tried to show her affection, and obeyed her. I was happy because you were happy. 

Then the human babies came along and i shared your excitement. I was fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and i wanted to mother them, too. Only she and you were worried that I might hurt them, and i spent most of my time banished to another room, or to a dog crate, oh how i wanted to love them, but i became "a prisoner of love". 

As they began to grow, I became their friend. They clung to my fur and pulled themselves up on wobbly legs, poked fingers in my eyes, investigated ears and gave me kisses on my nose. I loved everything about them and their touch, because your touch was so infrequent, and i would have defended them with my life if need be. I would sneak into their beds and listen to their worries and secret dreams. Together we waited for the sound of your car in the driveway.

There had been a time when others asked if you had a dog, and you produced a photo of me from your wallet and told them stories about me. These past few years, you've just answered "yes" and changed the subject. I had gone from "your dog" to "just a dog" and you resented every expenditure on my behalf. 

Now you have a new career opportunity in another city, and you and they will be moving to an apartment that doesn't allow pets. You've made the right decision for your "family", but there was a time when I was your only family. I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the animal shelter. It smelled of dogs and cats, but more importantly, of fear and hopelessness. You filled out the paperwork and said" I know you will find a good home for her". They shrugged and gave a pained look. They understand the realities facing a middle aged dog, even one with "papers". You had to pry your sons fingers loose from my collar as he screamed "No Daddy! Please don't let them take my dog!" and I worried for him and what lessons you had taught him about friendship and loyalty, about love and responsibility and about respect for all life. You gave me a good-bye pat on the head, avoided my eyes, and refused to take my collar and leash with you. You had a deadline to meet and now I have one too. 

After you left, the two nice ladies said you probably knew about the upcoming move months ago and made no attempt to find me another home. They shook their heads and said "how could you?"

They are as attentive to us here as their busy schedules allow. They feed us, of course, but I lost my appetite days ago. At first whenever someone passed my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping it was you, hoping you had changed your mind and that this was all a bad dream. Or I hoped that it would at least be someone that cared, anyone who might save me.

When I realized I could not compete for attention with the frolicking of the happy young puppies, oblivious to their own fate, I retreated to a far corner and waited.

I heard her footsteps as she came for me at the end of that fateful day, and I padded along beside her down the isle to a separate room, a blissful quite room. She placed me on the table and rubbed my ears, and told me not to worry. My heart pounded in anticipation of what was to come, but there was also a sense of relief. The “prisoner of love” had run out of days. 

As is my nature, I was more concerned about her. The burden which she bears weighs heavily on her, and I know that, the same way I knew every one of your moods. She gently placed a tourniquet around my foreleg as a tear ran down her cheek. I licked her hand in the same way I used to comfort you so many years ago. She expertly slid the hypodermic into my vein. As I felt the sting and the cool liquid coursing through my body, I lay down sleepily, looked into her eyes and murmured in my dog way “how could you?”. Perhaps because she understood my dog speak, she said “I’m so sorry”. She hugged me, and hurriedly explained it was her job to make sure I went to a better place, where I wouldn’t be ignored or abused or abandoned, or have to fend for myself. A place of love and of light, so very different from this earthly place. And with my last bit of energy, I tried to convey her with a thump of my tail that my “How could you” was not directed at her. 

My beloved master, I will think if you and wait for you forever.

THE END

May everyone in your life continue to show you so much loyalty.

By Unknown