Monday, December 12, 2005

Twas The Night....

Twas the night before Christmas,
When all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung
By the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas
Soon would be there.

The children were nestled
All snug in their beds,
With no thought of the dog
Filling their head.

And mamma in her 'kerchief',
And I in my cap,
Knew he was cold,
But didn't care about that.

When out on the lawn
There arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed
To see what was the matter.

Away to the window
I flew like a flash,
Figuring the dog was free
And into the trash.

The moon on the breast
Of the new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of midday
To objects below.

When, what to my wondering
Eyes should appear,
But Santa Claus
With his eyes full of tears.

He unchained the dog,
Once so lively and quick,
Last years Christmas present,
Now thin and sick.

More rapid than eagles
He called the dog's name.
And the dog ran to him,
Despite all his pain.

'Now, DASHER! Now, DANCER!
Now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! On CUPID!
On, DONDER and BLITZEN!

To the top of the porch!
To the top of the wall!
Let's find this dog a home
Where he'll be loved by all'

I knew in an instant
There would be no gifts this year,
For Santa'd made one thing
Perfectly clear.

The gift of a dog
Is not just for the season,
We had gotten the pup
For all the wrong reasons.

In our haste to think
Of a gift for the kids
There's one very important
Thing that we missed.

A dog should be family,
And cared for the same
You don't give a gift,
Then snap on a chain.

And I heard him exclaim
As he rode out of sight,
'You weren't given a gift!
You were given a life!'

-Author Unknown

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I know it is horrid to get a dog and then just put it on a chain or in a kennel and barely let it out for 5 minutes a day to play, if that. I did have a dog for 14 years, and for much of the first 5, he was chained in the backyard, because we lived in town. But he was let off for hours every day, and played with, and fed good food. When my parents moved out into the country, we threw away the chain forever. He roamed free, exploring the prairie and humping anything on 4 legs he could get to stand still.

In his last winter, after a long life, he and the much younger female dog across the road disappeared. For two weeks, we were sure he was gone forever. It turns out, he just went on one last sexual free-for-all. He did come back, 20 lbs lighter, and with a smile on he face.

Two weeks later, he died. But he died happy. Would that we could all could go out like that . . . exhausted after a two week sex-fest with someone half our age :D

Anonymous said...

Carn...you are killing me!
Coyote...I like that plan...I like it a lot!

mattandriver said...

I'm going to start chaining mine up by his ......

:-)

Anonymous said...

Mr. Driver, I will use some chains on you for that kind of talk.

mattandriver said...

Findley Labrador:

Oh please. Dog lover here, joking!!!!

And you can leave you threats at the door, they’re pointless.

Carnealian said...

Michael, when the weather gets this cold, I cannot help but think of the animals that are stuck outside. Dogs chained to their pathtic dog houses, strays, etc. It just breaks my heart. And Findley's too.

Mr. Driver, she was just kidding.

Anonymous said...

Driver, whatever.

mattandriver said...

Findley:

Sorry!