Why Get A Dog?

by Will Judy

~That you may not forget how to play as exemplified by the dog, who carries his puppy heart on thru to the graying muzzle~

~That you may have for your home and possessions an alert burglar alarm and a policeman who never sleeps~

~That you may be reminded daily and with resultant humility that you and the animal kingdom are of one and the same group in the scheme of creation~

~That you may live above petty selfishness thru obligating yourself for the welfare of one who depends implicitly upon you and never complains if you are derelict~

~That you may forget the worries of the day and the strain of its routine as arriving home, you are greeted with unfeigned delight by one whose heart is filled only with thoughts of you and whose existence, he believes, cannot go on apart from yours~

~That you may find surcease from being bored thru observing the dog’s freshness in doing the customary little things, his curiosity over the flutter of a leaf to the ground, and his discovery of new delights along old paths~

~That your children, growing up with a dog, may see a daily sermon on kindness, on obligation to others and the necessity for obedience, and may later translate these qualities into good citizenship~

~That you may learn from your servant the dog to live with faith in fellowmen, freedom from sullenness, and with an unselfishness which may not be logical but is divinely refreshing~

~That by your dog’s contagious example, you may live each day to its fullness, always ready for new adventure, and find zest in common and uncommon things alike~

• Originally printed in Dog World Magazine.