Pet Diabetes Support Group

MUFFIN DIABETIC PETS GROUP

thoughts on inspiration & loss
SHARED OVER THE YEARS BY THE MUFFIN FAMILY

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way.We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fullyunderstanding the necessary plan." - - Irving Townsend -

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep,
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle Autumn's rain
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there, I did not die.

- - Author unknown -

IF I SHOULD GROW FRAIL

If it should be that I grow frail and weak
And pain does keep me from my sleep,
Then will you do what must be done
for this - the last battle -can't be won.

You will be sad I understand
But don't let grief then stay your hand.
For on this day, more than the rest
Your love and friendship must stand the test.

We have had so many happy years,
You wouldn't want me to suffer so.
When the time comes, please, let me go.

Take me to where my needs they'll tend,
Only, stay with me till the end.
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.

I know in time you will agree
It is a kindness you do to me.
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I have been saved.

Don't grieve that it must now be you
Who has to decide this thing to do.
We've been so close - we two -these years,
Don't let your heart hold any tears.

(author unknown)

"If It Should Be"

If it should be that I grow weak,
And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then you must do what must be done,
For this last battle cannot be won.
You will be sad, I understand,
Don't let your grief then stay your hand,
For this day more than all the rest,
Your love for me must stand the test.
We've had so many happy years,
What is to come can hold no fears,
You'd not want me to suffer so,
The time has come, please let me go.
Take me where my need they'll tend,
And please stay with me until the end,
I know in time that you will see,
The kindness that you did for me.
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I've been saved.
Please do not grieve, it must be you
Who had this painful thing to do,
We've been so close, we two, these years,
Don't let your heart hold back its tears.

- - Author unknown -

Let Me Go

When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me,
I want no rites in a gloom-filled room,
Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little-but not too long
and not with your head held low.
Remember the love that we once shared.
Miss me-but let me go.

For this is a journey that we all must take
And each must go alone.
It's all a part of the Master plan,
A step on the road home.

When your are lonely and sick of heart,
Go to the friends we know
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.
Miss me-but let me go.

Author Unknown

(from the book: The Final Farewell)
.

An old poem from England

You can shed tears that your loved one has gone, or you can smile because they have lived. You can close your eyes and pray that they come back or you can open your eyes and see all that they left. Your heart can be empty because you cannot see them, or you can be full of the love that you shared. You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday, or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday. You can remember them and only that they have gone, or you can cherish their memories and let them live on. You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back or you can do what they would have wanted, smile, open your eyes, love, and go on.

GONE FROM MY SIGHT

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads
her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the
blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I
stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with
each other.

Then someone at my side says: "There, she is gone!"

"Gone where?"

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in
mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and
she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to
her destined port. Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment when someone at my side says:
"There, she is gone!" there are other eyes watching her
coming, and other voices ready to take up the joyous shout:
"Here she comes!"

And that is dying.
=======================================

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The Journey
by Crystal Ward Kent

When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey - a journey that will bring you more love and devotion than you have ever known, yet also test your strength and courage If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life, about yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come away changed forever,for one soul cannot touch another without leaving its mark.

Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life's simple pleasures - jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears.

If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable information. Your pace may be slower - except when heading home to the food dish - but you will become a better naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the field.

Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details - the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig. Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows: that nature has created a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of the seasons bring ever changing wonders, each day an essence all its own.

Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world around you. You will find yourself watc! hing sum mer insects collecting on a screen.(How bizarre they are! How many kinds there are!), or noting the flick and flash of fireflies through the dark.

You will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or sniff the air after a rain. It does not matter that there is no objective in this; the point is in the doing,in not letting life's most important details slip by.

You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less friends might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking for the cat food brand your feline must have, buying dog birthday treats, or driving around the block an extra time because your pet enjoys the ride. You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewie toys, bounce little rubber balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie - with a cat in hot pursuit - all in the name of love.

Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the crinkly sound.

You will learn the true measure of love - the steadfast, undying kind that says, "It doesn't matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as we are together." Respect this always.

It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another. You will not find it often among the human race.

And you will learn humility. The look in my dog's eyes often made me feel ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and so chose to love me anyway.

If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will be not just be a better person, but the person your pet always knew you to be - the one they were proud to call beloved friend.

I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets, one day your dear animal companion will follow a trail you cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the strength and love to let them go. A pet's time on earth is far too short - especially for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just for awhile, and during these brief years they are generous enough to give us all their love, every inch of their spirit and heart, until one day there is nothing left.

The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon old and
frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy
wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle now gray. Deep down we somehow always knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken. But give them we must for it is all they ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead - young and whole once more. "Godspeed, good friend," we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross again.

THIS OLD CAT:

I'm getting on in years,
My coat is turning gray.
My eyes have lost their luster,
My hearing's just okay.

I spend my day dreaming
Of conquests in my past,
Lying near a sunny window
Waiting for its warm repast.

I remember our first visit,
I was coming to you free,
Hoping you would take me in
And keep me company.

I wasn't young or handsome,
Two years I'd roamed the street.
There were scars upon my face,
I hobbled on my feet.

I could sense your disappointment
As I left my prison cage.
Oh, I hoped you would accept me
And look beyond my age.

You took me out of pity,
I accepted without shame.
Then you grew to love me,
And I admit the same.

I have shared with you your laughter,
You have wet my fur with tears.
We've come to know each other
Throughout these many years.

Just one more hug this morning
Before you drive away,
And know I'll think about you
Throughout your busy day.

The time we've left together
Is a treasured time at that.
My heart is yours forever.
I Promise - This old cat.

- Author Unknown

Just an Old Golden Retriever
By Audrey Thomasson

She was just an old golden retriever. Her name was Brandy, and for eleven years she was the sole companion of an elderly woman who lived in a bungalow colony in the country. Neighbors often saw the two of them together in the garden. The woman would be hunched over picking flowers and there was that old dog, close at her heels or lying in the middle of the grass watching her pull weeds. When the woman died, some relatives came and
collected anything they thought was valuable and put a "For Sale" sign on the front lawn. Then they locked the dog out and drove away.

Some of the neighbors left food out for Brandy, but mostly the dog stayed near the house that she knew and waited for her owner to come back.

A young mother who lived next door noticed the old retriever, but she had never been around animals before and while she thought the dog was friendly enough, she didn't feel it was any of her concern.

However, when the dog wandered into her yard and began playing with eighteen-month-old Adam, she wanted to shoo the dirty thing away. Adam was her only child and the light of her life. But he was having so much fun feeding Brandy cookies she decided to let her stay. After that, whenever Adam had cookies Brandy came by to visit.

One afternoon, the boy's mother left Adam in the soft grassy yard to play while she answered the phone. When she returned he was gone. Just gone. The mother was frantic. Neighbors came over to help in the search.

Police arrived and looked for three hours before calling in the state police and helicopters to do an extensive aerial search. But no one could find the child, and as the sun set over the horizon, whispers of abduction, injury or even death crept into conversations.

The search had been going on for six hours when a neighbor, who'd just returned home, wondered where Brandy was. Adam's mother, hysterical with worry, didn't understand why anyone was asking about the old dog at a time like this.

When someone suggested she might be with Adam, a trooper recalled hearing a dog barking deep in the woods when they were doing a foot search. Suddenly, everybody started calling for Brandy.

They heard faint barking and followed the sound until they found the toddler, standing up fast asleep, pressed against the trunk of a tree. That old dog was holding him there with one shoulder as one of her own legs dangled over a thirty-five-foot drop to a stream below.

Brandy had followed Adam when he wandered off. When she saw danger, she'd pushed him out of harm's way and held him safe for all those hours, even as the child struggled to get free.

As soon as the rescue team picked up Adam, the old dog collapsed. A trooper carried Adam back home, while his mother, sobbing with relief, carried Brandy. She was so grateful to the old golden retriever that Brandy spent the rest of her days with them. Brandy lived to the ripe old age of seventeen.

But this story doesn't end with just one life saved. In Brandy's honor, Adam's mother, Sara Whalen, founded Pets Alive, a rescue sanctuary in New York that takes in unwanted animals, including those designated to be euthanized because they are old, blind, incontinent or perhaps not cute enough to be adopted. While she can't save them all, Sara feels comforted that she can help at least some of them. She knows that if someone had put that old retriever to sleep, she could have easily lost the light of her life: her son.

Today, thirty years later, there are more than three hundred animals in her care, including birds, potbellied pigs, old horses retired from the carriage business and unadoptable pets from rescue groups across the country. The woman who used to think an old, abandoned dog wasn't any of her concern found that every life has value and has become a beacon for
thousands of animals in need.

Sorrow fills a barren space;
you close your eyes and see my face
and think of times I made you laugh,
the love we shared, the bond we had,
the special way I needed you -
the friendship shared by just we two.

The day's too quiet, the world seems older,
the wind blows now a little colder.
You gaze into the empty air
and look for me, but I'm not there -
I'm in heaven and I watch you,
and I see the world around you too.

I see little souls wearing fur,
souls who bark and souls who purr
born unwanted and unloved -
I see all this and more above -
I watch them suffer, I see them cry,
I see them lost, I watch them die.
I see unwanted thousands born -
and when they die, nobody mourns.

These little souls wearing fur
(Some who bark and some who purr)
are castaways who - unlike me -
will never know love or security.
A few short months they starve and roam,
Or caged in shelters - nobody takes home.
They're special too (furballs of pleasure),
filled with love and each one, a treasure.

My pain and suffering came to an end,
so don't cry for me, my person, my friend.
But think of the living - those souls with fur
(some who bark and some who purr) -
And though our bond can't be broken apart,
make room for another in your home and your heart.

Author Unknown

Your Dog

The years go so very fast and before you know it that romping pup is
old and gray muzzled and they have sat by our sides while we read,

watch TV, and work on our computers. Every so often they come to lay
their heads in our laps, toss our elbow with their muzzle or gaze
into our eyes and wait for us to notice them.

Take a moment now to remember what they mean to you.
I am your dog, and I have a little something I'd like to whisper in
your ear. I know that you humans lead busy lives.
Some have to work, some have children to raise. It always seems like
you are running here and running there, often much too fast, often
never noticing the truly grand things in life.

Look down at me now, while you sit there at your computer. See the
way my dark brown eyes look at yours? They are slightly cloudy now.
That comes with age. The gray hairs are beginning to ring my soft
muzzle.

You smile at me; I see love in your eyes. What do you see in mine? Do
you see a spirit? A soul inside, who loves you as no other could in
the world?

A spirit that would forgive all trespasses of prior wrong doing for
just a simple moment of your time? That is all I ask. To slow down,
if even for a few minutes, to be with me.

So many times you have been saddened by the words you read on that
screen, of others of my kind, passing. Sometimes we die young and oh
so quickly, sometimes so suddenly it wrenches your heart out of your
throat. Sometimes, we age so slowly before your eyes that you may not
even seem to know until the very end, when we look at you with
grizzled muzzles and cataract clouded eyes. Still the love is always
there, even when we must take that long sleep, to run free in a
distant land. I may not be here tomorrow; I may not be here next week.
Someday you will shed the water from your eyes, that humans have when
deep grief fills their souls, and you will be angry at yourself that
you did not have just "one more day" with me. Because I love you so,
your sorrow touches my spirit and grieves me.

We have NOW, together. So come, sit down here next to me on the
floor, and look deep into my eyes. What do you see? If you look hard
and deep enough we will talk, you and I, heart to heart.Come to me
not as "alpha" or as "trainer" or even "Mom and Dad," come to me as a
living soul and stroke my fur and let us look deep into one another's
eyes and talk. I may tell you something about the fun of chasing a
tennis ball, or I may tell you something profound about myself, or
even life in general.

You decided to have me in your life because you wanted a soul to
share such things with. Someone very different from you, and here I
am. I am a dog, but I am alive. I feel emotion, I feel physical
senses, and I can revel in the differences of our spirits and souls.

I do not think of you as a "Dog on Two Feet"-- I know what you are
and who you are. You are human, in all your quirkiness, and I love
you still.

No, come sit with me, on the floor. Enter my world, and let time slow
down if only for 15 minutes. Look deep into my eyes, and whisper into
my ears. Speak with your heart, with your joy, and I will know your
true self. We may not have tomorrow, but we do have today, and life
is oh so very short.

So please--come sit with me now and let us share these precious
moments we have together.

Prayer of a Stray

Dear God please send me somebody who'll care!
I'm sick with despair.

My body is aching, it's so racked with pain.
And dear God I pray as I run in the rain,

That someone will love me and give me a home.
A warm cozy bed I can call my own.

My last owner neglected me and chased me away
To rummage in garbage and live as a stray.

But now God I'm tired and hungry and cold,
And I'm afraid that I'll never grow old.

They've chased me with sticks and hit me with stones
While I run in the streets just looking for bones!

I'm not really bad God, Please help me if you can.
For I have just become a "victim of man"!

I'm wormy dear God and I'm ridden with fleas
And all that I want is an owner to please!

If you find one for me God, I'll try to be good
I won't run away and I'll do as I should.

I don't think I'll make it too long on my own,
Cause I'm getting weak and I'm so alone.

Each night as I sleep in the bushes I cry,
Cause I'm afraid, God, that I'm gonna die!

And I've got so much love and devotion to give,
That I should be given a new chance to live.

So dear God, PLEASE, PLEASE answer my prayer
And send me somebody who WILL really care.

-author unknown

CREATION

When God had made the earth and sky
The flowers and the trees,
He then made all the animals
And all the birds and bees.

And when he was finished,
No one was quite the same,
He said "I'll walk this earth of mine
And give each one a name".

And so he traveled land and sea
And everywhere he went
A little creature followed him,
Until its strength was spent.

When all were named upon the earth
And in the sky and sea,
The little creature said "Dear Lord,
There's not one left for me!"

The Father smiled and softly said
"I've left you till the end.
I've turned my own name back to front
And called you 'Dog' my friend".

This is a poem dedicated to you rescue people.

Once I was a lonely dog, just looking for a home.
I had no place to go, no one to call my own.
I wandered up and down the streets, in rain, in heat and snow.
I ate whatever I could find, I was always on the go.

My skin would itch, my feet were sore, my body ached with pain.
And no one stopped to give a pat or to gently say my name.
I never saw a loving glance, I was always on the run.
For people thought that hurting me was really lots of fun.

And then one day I heard a voice...so gentle, kind and sweet,
And arms so soft reached down to me and took me off my feet.
"No one again will hurt you" was whispered in my ear.
"You'll have a home to call your own where you will know no fear."

"You will be dry, you will be warm, you'll have enough to eat.
And rest assured that when you sleep, your dreams will all be sweet."
I was afraid I must admit, I've lived so long in fear.
I can't remember when I let a human come so near.

And as she tended to my wounds and bathed and brushed my fur
She told me 'bout the rescue group and what it meant to her.
She said, "We are a circle, a line that never ends.
And in the center there is you protected by new friends."

"And all around you are the ones that check the pounds,
And those that share their home after you've been found."
"And all the other folk are searching near and far.
To find the perfect home for you, where you can be a star."

She said, "There is a family, that's waiting patiently,
and pretty soon we'll find them, just you wait and see."
"And then they'll join our circle they'll help to make it grow,
so there'll be room for more like you, who have no place to go."

I waited very patiently, the days they came and went.
Today's the day I thought, my family will be sent.
Then just when I began to think it wasn't meant to be,
there were people standing there, just gazing down at me.

I knew them in a heart beat, I could tell they felt it too.
They said, "We have been waiting for a special dog like you."
Now every night I say a prayer to all the gods that be.
"Thank you for the life I live and all you've given me.

But most of all protect the dogs in the pound and on the street.
And send a Rescue Person to lift them off their feet."

-- Arlene Pace (September 18, 1998)

I stood by your bed last night

I stood by your bed last night, I came to have a peep.
I could see that you were crying, you found it hard to sleep.
I whined to you so softly as you brushed away a tear,
"It's me, I haven't left you, I'm well, I'm fine, I'm here."

I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea,
You were thinking of the many times your hands reached down to me.
I was with you at the shops today, your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more.

I was with you at my grave today, you tend it with such care.
I want to reassure you, that I am not lying there.
I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for your key.
I gently put my paw on you, I smiled and said "it's me".

You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.
It's possible for me to be so near you everyday.
To say to you with certainty, "I never went away."

You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew.
That in the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you.
The day is over...I smile and watch you yawning
and say "good-night, God bless, I'll see you in the morning."

And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I'll rush across to greet you and we'll stand, side by side.
I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see.
Be patient, live your journey out...then come home to be with me.
Anonymous

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