Farewell Boots 2.0

Today started out as a normal Saturday here in Cathedral City. My friends, JR and Ron and myself were going to Corona, CA to have their pup, Boots, evaluated for doggie training at a k-9 boot camp. Well, the owner of the place evaluated Boots and the evaluation was not good. Apparently, Boots was probably the offspring of in-breeding. This explained his Jekyll/Hyde behaviour. I met the little pup on Christmas Eve and became enamored with him. I was able feel some of his nips and bites; he did not like being handled in certain ways. He would get into a submissive stance, but would growl and bite if you tried to pick him up. Anyway, the man continued to say that the older he got, the more aggressive he could possibly become. The only alternative was to euthanize him...and that is what my friends decided. So, today, after 12 noon, little Boots entered doggie heaven to meet his namesake, Boots #1 who died in November '08. This event has made it a bittersweet vacation. I only experienced his puppiness for a few days. My friends were told not to get too attached to him in this event, but when you saw him, how could you not feel an attachment. By the way, he was in a shelter. A homeless person brought him in and my friends adopted him. Not much was known about him except that the homeless person found him in a gutter.

Thank You

Thanks for adopting me

And letting me experience life- not in a cold gutter,

But a warm, warm home.

Thanks for loving me-

That's something I don't think I'd ever have;

Thanks for playing with me;

It was fun to chase a ball

To have it at a tug of war

To bite my chicken squeeze toy

Again, thanks for playing with me

But most of all

Thanks for being my voice

In a world where my kind are abused

Unwanted

Neglected

You showed me that humans can be trusted

Even though I might not have gotten to trust you

But I know you would not want me to get in trouble

In the future

What you did was best for me

And please know that I appreciated

The little time we shared

Thanks for the care

Thanks for the food

Thanks for the love

Thanks for being my voice

All my love,

"Bootsie"

September 15, 2008-December 27, 2008

And, beloved master, should the Great Master see fit to deprive me of health or sight, do not turn me away from you. Rather hold me gently in your arms as skilled hands grant me the merciful boon of eternal rest... and I will leave you knowing that with the last breath I drew, my fate was ever safest in your hands.

By Beth Norman Harris