Poem - "A street dog's life"

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 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 about 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 who check the pounds,
And those who share their homes
after you've been found."
"And all the other folks
who 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 heartbeat,
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."