Grow Old With Dogs

When I am old...
I will wear soft gray sweatshirts and a bandana over my silver hair,
and I will spend my social security checks on wine and my dogs.
I will sit in my house on my well-worn chair and listen to my dogs'
breathing.
I will sneak out in the middle of a warm summer night and take my
dogs for a run, if my old bones will allow.

When people come to call, I will smile and nod as I show them my
dogs, and talk of them and about them, the ones so beloved of the

past and the ones so beloved of today.

I will still work hard cleaning after them, mopping, washing,
brushing, and feeding them, and whispering their names in a soft loving way.
I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat, like a jewel and I will
be an embarrassment to all, especially my family,
who have not yet found the peace in being free to have dogs as your
best friends. These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your footfall,
and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep, to greet you as
if you are a God.
With warm eyes full of adoring love and hope that you will always
stay, I'll hug their big strong necks.
I'll kiss their dear sweet heads, and whisper in their very special company.
I look in the mirror and see I am getting old.
This is the kind of person I am, and have always been.
Loving dogs is easy they are part of me.
Please accept me for who I am.
My dogs appreciate my presence in their lives;
they love my presence in their lives.
When I am old this will be important to me.
You will understand when you are old....
if you have dogs to love too.

author unknown

If I didn't have dogs

I could walk around the yard barefoot.

My house could be carpeted instead of tiled and laminated.

All flat surfaces, clothing, furniture, and cars would be free of hair.

When the doorbell rings, it wouldn't sound like a kennel.

When the doorbell rings, I could get to the door without wading through
fuzzy bodies that beat me there.

I could sit on the couch and my bed the way I wanted, without taking into
consideration how much space several fur bodies would need to get
comfortable.

I would have money.... and no guilt to go on a real vacation.

I would not be on a first-name basis with 6 veterinarians, as I put their
yet unborn grand kids through college.

The most used words in my vocabulary would not be: out, sit, down, come, no,
stay, and leave him/her ALONE.

My house would not be cordoned off into zones with baby gates.

My house would not look like a day care center, toys everywhere.

My pockets would not contain things like poop bags, treats and an extra
leash.

I would no longer have to Spell the words B-A-L-L, F-R-I-S-B-E- E, W-A-L-K,
T-R-E-A-T, B-I-K-E, G-O, R-I-D-E

I would not look strangely at people who think having ONE dog/cat ties them
down too much.

I would not have to answer the question "Why do you have so many animals?"
From people who will never have the joy in their lives of knowing they are
loved unconditionally by someone as close to an angel as they will ever get.

How EMPTY my life would be!

The True Ambassadors

Nothing is better then being owned by a Mastiff.  As they age they remind us of how Noble they really are.  The graying on the chin, their desire to have peace, the calming effect they have.  They know what they want and communicate very well with you until you give it to them.

They also seem to know what I am going to do before I do it.  I love my  aging ones.  Below they are pictures in the their youth playing and enjoying life they still play like that just not as long and enjoy sleeping in front of the fireplace or going for rides in the car.

Titus and Coya are my seniors 6 years ago