Just a Dog
From time to time people tell me, "Lighten up. It's just a dog" or "That's a lot of money for Just a dog". They don't understand the distance traveled, time spent or costs involved for "Just a dog".
Some of my proudest moments have come about with "Just a dog". Many hours have passed with my only company being "Just a dog" and not once have I felt slighted.
Some of my saddest moments were brought about by "Just a dog". In those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "Just a dog" provided comfort and purpose to overcome the day.
If you, too, think it's "Just a dog", you will probably understand phrases like "Just a friend", "just a sunrise" or "Just a promise".
"Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person. Because of "Just a dog" I will rise early, take long walks, and look longingly to the future.
For me and folks like me, it's not "Just a dog". It's an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.
"Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.
I hope that someday people can understand it's not "Just a dog". It's the thing that gives me humanity and keep me from being "Just a man " or "Just a woman".
So the next time you hear the phrase "Just a dog", smile, because they "Just don't understand". - Author unknown
People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practice. According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering other people, since this has also been done since the earliest of times.
- Isaac Bashevis Singer
"Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things - a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in the shaft of winter sunlight". - John Grogan "Marley & Me"
Some might say the heroes are those thousands of dogs and cats who forgive humans for their dreadful treatment and are still willing to be our best friends.
“Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in… man is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain.”— Mark Twain
“The time will come when men such as I will look on the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men.”—Leonardo da Vinci
“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.”—Gilda Radner
“The fate of animals is of greater importance to me than the fear of appearing ridiculous.”—Emile Zola
“Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.”—Thomas A. Edison
“If man is not to stifle human feelings, he must practice kindness to animals, for he who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” —Immanuel Kant
“One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and get away with it.”—Margaret Mead
“The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men.”—Alice Walker
“We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the devil in human form. ”—William Ralph Inge
“Hear our humble prayer, o God, for our friends the animals who are suffering; for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry….We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity, and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words. Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals and so to share the blessings of the merciful.”—Albert Schweitzer
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.”— Anatole France
“Only animals were not expelled from Paradise.”—Milan Kundera
Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affections, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to. - Alfred A. Montepart
"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." Kahlil Gibran
“No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities.” Christian Nevell Bovee
