You smile at me; I see the 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 the 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 other 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 as Mom or 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.  You are human, in all your quirkiness, and I love

you still.

Now, come and 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