Share your love for your pets.
When I come home from a stressful day and see Ollie (14-year-old shih tzu) sleeping so peacefully on this holiday pillow I bought her, she makes all the hard work and stress worth it because I know this little dog rescued me as much as I rescued her!
Submitted by Kim
Email me a picture (jpg or gif format) with a small caption explaining why love is a four-legged word for you to: stinkypaw@gmail.com
Share the love!
I’ve received this via email, and thought I would share it here, with you animal lovers…
“Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.
I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker’s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.
The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ‘I know why.’
Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation.
He said, ‘People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?’ The 6-year-old continued, ‘Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.’
Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like when loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy-ride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you’re not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!”
Oh, what would I do without my tiny little beautiful Roxy Star?!
She is just like a second child to me.
She is the meaning of unconditional love.
Just one little shake of her nub-nub grabs my heart and puts a huge smile on my face.
Without her my family would not be complete.
Submitted by Season
Love is a four-legged thing between me and my Murray. He was a stray who hung around my apartment complex.
One night, he decided to just move in with me – ran past me when I opened the door, and went right to the refrigerator. I had nothing in the house to give him besides lunch meat, and he was so hungry, he ate a whole pack. I left the door open so he could leave at any time, but he decided to stay and watch TV with me. At bedtime, I just closed the door and let him stay, and he’s been with me ever since.
He is very affectionate, and fills my days with joy and love. I am so glad he picked me to move in with.
Submitted by Jennifer B.
For those of you who find animals as remarkable as I do . . . Meet Cashew the Lab, and her seeing eye cat, Libby.
If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day a nd be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can ignore a friend’s limited education and never correct her/him,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
…Then You Are Probably The Family Dog!
I got the following message via email, I have no idea how true it is, but I thought it might be interesting to post here, since it’s a great story showing just how much love is a four-legged word…
Rob LoMonaco needs donations to bring to the U.S. this dog he befriended and named Left Eye while in Afghanistan.
In an e-mail interview that spanned three days and roughly 7,000 miles, I finally had to ask the tough question: Why should Americans care about a pair of mongrel dogs in Afghanistan?
Hey, you know I’m a sap, but I figured someone out there would ask, so I did it first.
Rob LoMonaco’s response was open and kind: Help the dogs that helped them stay sane. And if that doesn’t work for you: Help him and a fellow serviceman stay sane when they return by helping them help the dogs.
A New York transplant who now calls Pickerington home, LoMonaco will return to Ohio in September from a one-year tour that included five months in Kunar province in northeastern Afghanistan.
He was one of 10 U.S. soldiers, airmen and Marines among roughly 100 Afghan national army troops stationed at the base there. Lo-Monaco is in the Air Force, a
team trainer who works with Afghan logistic officers.
He and his American colleagues all grappled with the isolation every day, the long convoys and the overall stress of overseas military service.
LoMonaco also was lucky enough to find a true friend over there, a dog he named Left Eye. Now, he wants to adopt and bring her home but needs our help to pay the roughly $2,500 cost of travel and quarantine.
He met Left Eye when she was just born.
Her mother, D.O.G., already was a favorite among the previous team of Americans, who had trained her for security.
In November, she gave birth to four puppies: two boys and two girls. Afghans adopted the two boys — they don’t get pregnant — but left the girls, who eventually attached themselves to the base cooks, one of whom was LoMonaco.
“Whether it was training them, or watching them play, they were an excellent way to detox from a 10-hour convoy mission,” he told me in an e-mail.
As much as anything, the servicemen admired the mother, who was killed in January by Afghan soldiers as she tried to protect one of the Americans in a tragic misunderstanding.
In February, the next shift took over and gladly took over the care of the two girls, but LoMonaco missed Left Eye, so named for a spot below her left eye. “I quickly realized how attached I was to the dog and felt I had left a friend.”
He started looking into the adoption process and learned about Tigger House, a group that will arrange such things for servicemen and women.
But the cost was beyond his reach.
Then he heard that neighborhood children had dangerously taunted the two puppies, which are mongrels and therefore worthless by typical Afghan standards. Wild dogs are common there and often threaten children in the region, LoMonaco said.
He and the soldier back at the base who had taken over care of the pups decided they had to do something. “Both of us did not want to be ‘kicking’ ourselves when we got home and for the rest of our lives that we did not try.”
After reading their story, I felt likewise. Let’s help them bring home their buddies.
For more information and some adorable videos, go to http://dankalinowski.com/rlomo/.
Love means I let them dress me funny.
Submitted by Mike
Love is a 4-legged word to me…
…because it’s the kind of love that is unconditional.
It’s loyal, forgiving,
and always without expectations of being perfect.
Submitted by Anita
