NOBODY'S DOG - Page 1

Today is the death day of nobody's dog
Nothing will mark it but a note in the log
I'm faceless and nameless and no tears will fall
For I know in your world I have no worth at all
To you, my sweet someone, I'm a friend and a dear
We ran the wind daily and you held me so near
But the gate was left open - I chanced a walk on my own
I'd have cowered in fear if only I'd known
I know how you cried on the night that I strayed
I know how you searched, I know how you prayed
But I went to a pound far far from our home
Where I crouched in despair in my kennel alone
I know that you phoned for I heard your dear voice
And I hoped you would hear me so I barked myself hoarse
Although I'm a Lab cross with stockings all white
On their form I'm a Staff cross - the description's not right
So they said I'm not here and I sank to my bed
My kennel cough's worse and I can't raise my head
The rescue came yesterday but they hadn't a place
For an un-neutered cross breed with his mucus-streaked face
If only you'd come to search for me here
You would have known me at once, you would have sensed I was near
You would have sorted my ills, you would have carried me home
And I promise our God no more would I roam
Now my eyes plead for mercy for my seven days are done
And I am waiting with dread for the final vet run
No arms will caress me as they inject me to death
No words will comfort me as I take my last breath
When the body man comes, it is fitting I'm found
In a bin bag in the freezer in the depths of the pound
Thrown away like the rubbish - no respect and no shame
Denied even the time to find you again
My loyalty and devotion they did cruelly betray
Without microchip or nametag, I am just a dispensable stray
Once waggy-tailed, once proud, beloved and free
Oh Dad look with pain at what mankind's done to me!

tell me you didn't cry as you read this.

Here is the link: http://www.mygermanshepherd.co.uk/forums/loving-memory/846-poem-made-me-cry-nobodys-dog.html

read after the poem.

I think something needs to be done about this

Hamza, I am sorry, but I couldn't bring myself to look at the link- I can only guess. Yes, the poem made me cry- it is so true and  so horribly sad. I go to a nursing home weekly to visit the residents there and sadly that poem could be written about some of the people there. No one goes to visit them and they will die alone, without a family member or loved one by their side. It is so heartbreaking. We are called to take care of others, both humans and animals and our human race falls very short.   Thank you for sharing. We all need a reminder of the reality of life and death for many out there.

As I finished this post I remembered a book I read as a child, titled "Muley Ears, Nobody's Dog". You can guess what is was about and that book really touched me. I'll never forget the impact it made on me and my view of animals, those who depend on us humans to take care of them. I wonder if it is still around....

I am crying harder than anybody right now.

OMG, the tears will not stop.

Cried like a baby!!!!!

Yeah, right!  Like anyone could read this and not cry... Very good reminder of how things truly happen in the shelters...dogs are so often called something other than what they really are and end up euthenized when someone is searching night and day for them.  That is why you never, ever call the shelter...you go look for yourself and look at every single dog I don't care if they call it a chow when you are looking for a beagle...go LOOK!  I still can't stop crying!

I find it so disturbing, that this happens in a place which is actually supposed to help the animals.
This is one of the things i hope will get better.

Yes it made me cry and yes it is also sad that many people searching for their pets do not visit pounds and shelters that are out of their area, many dogs are picked up by travelers and are dropped off at vets or pounds on their way.

It is an unfortunate problem, especially in large shelters who quickly run out of space, most dogs have not been vaccinated by their owners so their diseases spread rapidly. As an ACO in a small town and one who's done GSD rescue for 15 years, I cryed like a baby reading that post. I am lucky to work for a fairly responsible township who are on my tail as soon as I get the call that a dog is in the road. I usually get the call within hours saying they want to pick up their dog or they may call before I ge to the scene so they can meet me there to catch their dog. My heart truely breaks for the ACO's who have to endure working in a shelter who is over run, has these unclaimed dogs, and who have to make the dsecision on who gets to live and who doesn't. Most do the best they can with whatthey have. If an owner doesn't care enough to chip/tattoo/or tag their dog and doesn't come down to look, what are they supposed to do? And for breed identifications, people have really weird breeds listed for their mixes and we would never guess. We have a dog that was just tied to our front door this weekend, my partner thinks it's a Beagle X, i would say some kind of Bulldog or Staffordshire Bull mix body (short & stubby) with a shepherd mix type head. Never would I say Beagle X. These mixes are hard to id sometimes so yes, ALWAYS go check the pound yourself and call ALL the area pounds, not just the town you live in (FYI: Dogs don't know there's a town line!).