longcoatgermanshepherdspoems

'Hi Sandy...even though I am not a breeder(but only a lover of dogs) someone sent me this and naturally I immediately thought of you!!!

Does this sound like you or what???!!!!!! As always.... looking at and enjoying your website of pups and dogs weekly! Love, Cathy'

A BREEDERS LIFE Written by: Peggy Adamson

A Breeder (with a capital B) is one who thirsts for

knowledge and never really knows it all, one who wrestles

with decisions of conscience,convenience, and commitment.

A Breeder is one who sacrifices personal interests,

finances, time, friendships, fancy furniture, and deep pile

carpeting! She gives up the dreams of a long, luxurious cruise

in favor of turning that all important Show into this year's "vacation".

The Breeder goes without sleep (but never without coffee!)

in hours spent planning a breeding or watching anxiously

over the birth process, and afterwards, over every little

sneeze, wiggle or cry.

The Breeder skips dinner parties because that litter is due

or the babies have to be fed at eight.She disregards birth

fluids and puts mouth to mouth to save a gasping new-born,

literally blowing life into a tiny, helpless creature that

may be the culmination of a lifetime of dreams.

A Breeder's lap is a marvelous place where generations of

proud and noble champions once snoozed.

A Breeder's hands are strong and firm and often soiled, but

ever so gentle and sensitive to the thrusts of a puppy's wet nose.

A Breeder's back and knees are usually arthritic from

stooping, bending, and sitting in the birthing box, but are

strong enough to enable the breeder to Show the next choice

pup to a Championship.

A Breeder's shoulders are stooped and often heaped with

abuse from competitors, but they're wide enough to support

the weight of a thousand defeats and frustrations.

A Breeder's arms are always able to wield a mop, support an

armful of puppies, or lend a helping hand to a newcomer.

A Breeder's ears are wondrous things, sometimes red (from

being talked about)or strangely shaped (from being pressed

against a phone receiver), often deaf to criticism, yet always

fine-tuned to the whimper of a sick puppy.

A Breeder's eyes are blurred from pedigree research and

sometimes blind to her own dog's faults, but they are ever

so keen to the competitions faults and are always searching

for the perfect specimen.

A Breeder's brain is foggy on faces, but it can recall

pedigrees faster than an IBM computer. It's so full of

knowledge that sometimes it blows a fuse: it catalogues

thousands of good bonings, fine ears, and perfect heads...

and buries in the soul the failures and the ones that

didn't turn out.

The Breeder's heart is often broken, but it beats strongly

with hope everlasting... and it's always in the right place!

Oh, yes, there are breeders, and then, there are BREEDERS!!

Author: Unknown.......

MESSAGE FROM MAX:

My name is Max and I have a little something I'd like

to whisper in your ear. I know that you humans lead

busy lives. Some have to work, some have children to

raise.

It always seems like you are running here and there,

often much too fast, often never noticing the truly

grand things in life.

Look down at me now, while you sit there at your

computer. See the way my dark brown eyes look at

yours? They are slightly cloudy now, that comes with

age. The grey hairs are beginning to ring my soft

muzzle. You smile at me; I see love in your eyes.

What do you see in mine?

Do you see a spirit, a soul inside who loves you as no

other could in the world? A spirit that would forgive

all trespasses of prior wrong doing for just a simple

moment of your time?

That is all I ask. To slow down if even for a few

minutes to be with me.

So many times you have been saddened by the words you read on that screen, of others of my kind, passing.

Sometimes we die young and oh so quickly,sometimes so suddenly it wrenches your heart out of your throat.

Sometimes we age so slowly before your eyes that you

do not even seem to know, until the very end, when we

look at you with grizzled muzzles and cataract clouded

eyes. Still the love is always there, even when we

take that long sleep, to run free in distant lands.

I may not be here tomorrow; I may not be here next

week. Someday you will shed the waters from your eyes, that humans have when deep grief fills their souls,

and you will be angry at yourself that you did not

have just "One more day" with me.

Because I love you so, your sorrow touches my spirit

and grieves me. We have now, together. So come, sit

down here next to me on the floor. And look deep into

my eyes. What do you see? If you look hard and deep

enough we will talk, you and I, heart to heart. Come

to me not as "alpha" or as a "trainer" or even a "Mom

or Dad", come to me as a living soul and stroke my fur

and let us look deep into one another's eyes, and

talk. I may tell you something about the fun of

chasing a tennis ball, or I may tell you something

profound about myself, or even life in general. You

decided to have me in your life (I hope) because you

wanted a soul to share just such things with.

Someone very different from you, and here I am. I am a

dog, but I am alive. I feel emotion, I feel physical

senses, and I can revel in the differences of our

spirits and souls. I do not think of you as a "Dog on

two feet"---I know what you are. You are human, in all

your quirkiness, and I love you still.

Now, come sit with me, on the floor. Enter my world,

and let time slow down if even for only 15 minutes.

Look deep in my eyes, and whisper to my ears.

Speak with your heart, with your joy and I will know

your true self.

We may not have tomorrow, and life is oh so very short.

Love,

Max (on behalf of all canines everywhere)

Dogs New Year's Resolutions

~I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.

~The garbage collector is NOT stealing our stuff.

~I do not need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm lying under the coffee table.

~I will not roll my toys behind the fridge.

~I must shake the rainwater out of my fur BEFORE entering the house.

~I will not eat the cats' food, before or after they eat it.

~I will stop trying to find the few remaining pieces of clean carpet in the house when I am about to throw up.

~I will not throw up in the car.

~I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc.

~I will not lick my human's face after eating animal poop.

~"Kitty box crunchies" are not food.

~I will not eat any more socks and then redeposit them in the backyard after processing.

~The diaper pail is not a cookie jar.

~I will not wake Mommy up by sticking my cold, wet nose up her bottom end.

~I will not chew my human's toothbrush and not tell them.

~I will not chew crayons or pens, especially not the red ones, or my people will think I am hemorrhaging.

~When in the car, I will not insist on having the window rolled down when it's raining outside.

~We do not have a doorbell. I will not bark each time I hear one on TV.

~I will not steal my Mom's underwear and dance all over the back yard with it.

~The sofa is not a face towel. Neither are Mom & Dad's laps.

~My head does not belong in the refrigerator.

~I will not bite the officer's hand when he reaches in for Mom's driver's license and car registration.

A Living Love

If you ever love a dog, there are three days in your life you will always remember....

The first is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your young new friend. You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed. You may have asked numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a breeder. Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen that silly looking mutt in a shelter--simple because something in its eyes reached your heart. But when you bring that chosen pet home, and watch it explore, and claim its special place in your hall or front room--and when you feel it brush against you for the first time--it instills a feeling of pure love you will carry with you through the many years to come.

The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later. It will be a day like any other. Routine and unexceptional. But, for a surprising instant, you will look at your longtime friend and see age where you once saw youth. You will see slow deliberate steps where you once saw energy. And you will see sleep when you once saw activity. So you will begin to adjust your friend's diet--and you may add a pill or two to her food. And you may feel a growing fear deep within yourself, which bodes of a coming emptiness. And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until the third day finally arrives.

And on this day--if your friend and God have not decided for you, then you will be faced with making a decision of your own--on behalf of your lifelong friend, and with the guidance of your own deepest Spirit. But whichever way your friend eventually leaves you--you will feel as lone as a single star in the dark night. If you are wise, you will let the tears flow as freely and as often as they must. And if you are typical, you will find that not many in your circle of family or friends will be able to understand your grief, or comfort you.

But if you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the many joy-filled years, you may find that a soul--a bit smaller in size than your own--seems to walk with you, at times, during the lonely days to come.

And at moments when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to happen, you may feel something brush against your leg--very, very lightly. And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest, friend used to lay--you will remember those three significant days. The memory will most likely to be painful, and leave an ache in your heart--As time passes the ache will come and go as if it has a life of its own.

You will both reject it and embrace it, and it may confuse you. If you reject it, it will depress you. If you embrace it, it will deepen you. Either way, it will still be an ache.

But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day when--along with the memory of your pet--and piercing through the heaviness in your heart--there will come a realization that belongs only to you. It will be as unique and strong as our relationship with each animal we have loved, and lost. This realization takes the form of a Living Love--like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals have wilted, this Love will remain and grow--and be there for us to remember. It is a love we have earned. It is the legacy our pets leave us when they go. And it is a gift we may keep with us as long as we live. It is a Love which is ours alone. And until we ourselves leave, perhaps to join our Beloved Pets--it is a Love we will always possess.

By Martin Scot Kosins

IF I KNEW

If I knew it would be the last time

That I'd see you fall asleep,

I would tuck you in more tightly

and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time

that I see you walk out the door,

I would give you a hug and kiss

and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time

I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,

I would video tape each action and word,

so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,

I could spare an extra minute

to stop and say "I love you,"

instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time

I would be there to share your day,

Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,

so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow

to make up for an oversight,

and we always get a second chance

to make everything just right.

There will always be another day

to say "I love you,"

And certainly there's another chance

to say our "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong,

and today is all I get,

I'd like to say how much I love you

and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,

young or old alike,

And today may be the last chance

you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,

why not do it today?

For if tomorrow never comes,

you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time

for a smile, a hug, or a kiss

and you were too busy to grant someone,

what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,

and whisper in their ear,

Tell them how much you love them

and that you'll always hold them dear

Take time to say "I'm sorry,"

"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."

And if tomorrow never comes,

you'll have no regrets about today.

For my friend Sandy, Lana's Mom-Mom:

When I am Old.

I shall wear Turquoise and soft gray sweatshirts...

and a bandana over my long, silver hair.....

and I shall spend my Social Security Checks on Sweet Wine and my dogs.......

and sit in my house on my well-worn chair and listen to my dogs' breathing.

I will sneak out in the middle of a warm Summer night and take my dogs for a run, if my old bones will allow...

and when people come to call, I will smile and nod as I walk out and show them my dogs... and talk of them and about them...

The Ones so Beloved of the Past and the Ones so Beloved of Today....

I still will work hard cleaning their runs and mopping and feeding them and whispering their names in a soft, loving way.. I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat, like a jewel .. and I will be an embarrassment to all...

Including my Children ... who have not yet found the peace in being free to have dogs as your Best Friends....

These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your footfall... and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep, to greet you .......as if you are a God.

With warm eyes full of adoring love and hope that you will stay and hug them... and kiss their dear sweet heads... and whisper to them of your love and the beautiful pleasure of their very special company....

I look in the Mirror...and see I am getting old.... this is the kind of woman I am... and have always been.

Loving dogs is easy, they are part of me, accept me for who I am, and appreciate my presence in their lives...

When I am old this will be important to me...

You will understand when you are old.... and if you have dogs to love too.

Author Unknown

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A Dog's Purpose - from a 4 year old

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and theirlittle boy, Shane,

were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping

for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.

We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply, Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Contemplative