"The Power of the Dog", by Rudyard Kipling.
"The Power of the Dog", by Rudyard Kipling. I think it must strike a chord with all who had their hearts torn by a dog.
THERE is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.
Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.
When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find - it's your own affair, -
But ... you've given your heart to a dog to tear.
When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!),
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone - wherever it goes - for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear!
We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent,
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve;
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long -
So why in - Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?
Comments
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Thanks for that ET. I've not seen that poem before, and how very true it is.
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The passing has happened to us four times in a great number of years, and it never gets any easier, but the love and friendship they have all given us is priceless. We have two whippets with different ways and plan our sites that we stay on sites only if they have a big dog area, so my wife and my self come second in the pecking order.
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Yep. When I brought my father's Alsation to live with us She was used to me taking her walks. I guess that my youngest daughter was about 7 years old. The dog was very jealous of her - not a good thing. made a point that it was she who fed the dogs and gave any small leftover meal to both the Alsatian and our Lab. When we went away a few months later I we left the Lab with our older daughter. I remember walking down a beach on Llyn peninsula. The Alsatian was walking alongside me and my wife and youngest was 40 yards away at the edge of the sea paddling along. When some strangers appeared walking the other way and would pass close to my daughter the Alsatian took off and walked along pressed close to my daughter until the strangers passed and then ran back to us. That is when I knew for sure that the strategy had worked completely
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I think it is very true about the person who feeds them, because my wife has always fed our dogs and we have never been able to understand why they have all sat close to her in most cases on her lap, but never with myself, she has always joked that her lap was more comfortable, but it makes sense about the person who feeds them. Also a couple of weeks ago I stopped to chat with a lady who lives local that also has a young whippet, and she told me that she had been away in India with her husband for a month and had taken there whippet back to the breeder to look after while they were away, and that their dog had also refused to eat and had lost weight, but as soon as they came back and the dog got back with them he started eating as normal. So maybe a lot more goes on in their heads than we think.
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The one that supplies the food is the strongest/leader it’s in a Dogs interest to show reverence to that leader👍🏻, instinctually smart are Dogs😊
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Drifting away a little from Rudyard Kipling although its a very true and moving poem, what you say Rocky about feeding and being the pack leader is true, but I think the only way to be pack leader is with kindness and not to spoil dogs and mix them up, all dogs like to feel safe with you, and also routine but not boredom. Anyway some may not agree but that is my thoughts.
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The brutal truth cgb is-WE don’t chose who’s the leader the Dog/s do. If one person stood with food another with kind words the Dog/s would follow the food🤷🏻♂️. After saying that I’m in total agreement with you re kindness👍🏻. If a Dog flinches from its own family member/s then there’s an issue-the issue isn’t with the Dog☹️
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We have been watching the TV program Dogs Behaving Badly on Tuesday night, and in a lot of cases after Graeme Hall has sorted out the dog or dogs he then sorts out the owners who in most cases have coursed the problems with the dogs. I had a look on his web page and his starting price is £600 depending on distance, not that we will ever need him or afford him.
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