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Treat me kindly, My beloved friend, for no heart in all the world is more grateful for kindness than the loving heart of me.

Don't break my spirit with a stick, for though I should lick your hand between blows, your patience and understanding will more quickly teach me things you would have me learn

Speak to me often, for your voice is the world's sweetest music, as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when your footsteps fall upon my waiting ear.

Please take me inside when it is cold and wet, for I am a domesticated animal, no longer accustomed to bitter elements. I ask no greater glory than the priviledge of sitting at your feet beside the hearth.

Keep my pan filled with water, for I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.

Please feed me clean food that I may stay well, to romp and play and do your bidding, to walk by your side and stand ready, willing and able to protect you with my very life, should your life be in danger.

And, my friend, when I am very old and no longer enjoy good health, hearing and sight, do not make heroic efforts to keep me going. I shall leave this earth knowing with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands...

I will always be your best friend and will be waiting for you to join me when your final hour comes.

-Unknown Author - 1982

I dread that day,
One year from now,
That first marking of the time,
That your body was no longer with us;
Though we will never forget you,
Your tangible memory fades.
The feel of your fur, your head, your back, your weight against us,
The smell and sounds of you when,
You were here.

The emptiness is beginning to fade,
To change into another reality,
One with you still playing a part,
But a role of ethereal presence
Rather than the physical comfort we crave;
Your memory, your spirit, your essence and counsel
Dwell with us, but this feeling is not the same as when,
You were here.

~Jenine Stanley~

http://bcadoptapet.org/page11.htm