A DOG'S LETTER

Dear people,

I am writing this letter to you while doing one of my favourite things, going for a ride in the car. My owners are talking about me using words like "being put down" you don't know who I am, but I am going to tell you about one dog. ME.

I was born in January 2002.   My mother was sweet and kind to me and she was devoted to the people who owned her and loved her. I never knew my father, but my mother did say that he was a fine looking dog and a Champion!

I really enjoyed being in this world. I was a happy healthy normal puppy. When I was about three months old I was sold. I didn't really want to leave my mum and I did cry a little at my new home. My new owners were nice people who let me do what I wanted. I could jump on them and grab their arms and bite, and also pulled them around. I also made a game out of jumping on people to see how many I could knock down (the kids were the easiest).

As I got older and bigger r also found out that if I growled and gave them a look I could really do anything I wanted! People that my owners knew started to call me a word. I think that it was "undisciplined" .After being at this home for a year I was again sold. I don't really know why but a word called "uncontrollable" was used.

My next owners had a lovely home and a nice yard; they also let me do all my games with them. One day the woman was going to take my food dish while I was standing there. I bit her. I don't really know why I did that, but no one had ever taken my dish from me before. I was sold again.

The next owners decided I needed obedience training, I think I would have liked training, but the man really didn't give me a chance. He put a collar with spikes in it on me and started pulling and hollering words I didn't understand. So I bit him. I'm now being called "vicious". My owners are afraid of me and don't want me around.

I am two years old. I don't like the reputation I have and I don't know what really happened to me that I turned out this way. But I know that all of my owners were to blame for my downfall. I'm really not a bad dog. If someone along d1e way would have had the understanding needed to make a good dog and taken the time to teach me that jumping, pulling arms and biw1g were things you didn't do to people you loved, I wouldn't be going to meet my end. So please if you have a puppy, show him that you love him and teach him discipline, DON'T let him turn out like me!

Yours Truly,

Dog.

Just a Dog

Before you contact me and ask for "just a dog", read the following:

From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a dog," or, "that's a lot of money for just a dog." They don't understand the distance travelled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a dog." Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog."
Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog," but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog," and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.
If you, too, think it's "just a dog," then you will probably understand phases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just a promise." "Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.
Because of "just a dog" I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a dog" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. "Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.
I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a dog" but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a man." So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog." just smile, because they "just don't understand."

Roca (C) 2006

Versatile Hunting Dog Magazine, February 2006