Dedication

We come in every shape and size. All with one thing alike.

We love our furry four legged friends, no matter what breed or type.

Hearts of gold are what we have for giving free homes to these pups.

While we take on more overtime, as the cost of feeding them goes up.

What is it that drives us to take them in, and let them rule our homes?

It must be those eyes, or the tilt of the head, while they feast on that new marrow bone.

They are great entertainment, I must admit, as I throw that ball again.

When he won’t give it back, that kind of gets under my skin!

Then, there it is; he is in the stance. Yep he's making a poo.

As I walk around with bags on my hands, I do have better things to do.

Well his tummy must be empty now, I guess we better get something to eat.

Then maybe a bully stick, those are his favorite treat.

Maybe after that we can rest a while; all this work is wearing me out.

I'm tired from chasing you and cleaning up poop, and throwing that ball around.

Gosh this dog is a lot of work; I don't know why we do it.

It’s like he has a spell on me; there must be something to it.

Then one day I figured it out, exactly what it was.

That makes us sacrifice everything for these charming balls of fuzz.

I was feeling bad one day. I was dozing in my bed.

When I woke up, across my leg, I could feel a furry head.

He looked at me with those loving eyes, as I scratched him under his chin.

The love he showed me was magic! I was feeling better again.

This labor of love is hard sometimes, I know that this is true.

But if God ever allowed them to say three words, they would be I LOVE YOU!

(Jerry Wayne Baldwin; from “This K-9 of Mine”;

Author's note: "Dedicated to all dog owners. Thank you for your labor of love!")

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I would like to thank Jerry Wayne Baldwin for his kind permission to publish his poems on my blog.

The book “This K-9 of Mine: Poetic short stories from a dog's point of view, plus a few from the owner's vantage point, too.” is available as Kindle version here.