Table of Contents
| A Letter to Readers | xv |
| Thanks | xix |
| 1 | Dogs | 1 |
| What I Learned from My Dog | 3 |
| I Would Be | 5 |
| Welcome Home, New Puppy | 6 |
| Making a House a Home | 7 |
| Faithful Companion | 8 |
| Just My Dog | 10 |
| We Really Never Own a Dog | 12 |
| Loyal Friend | 13 |
| A Perfect Gentleman | 14 |
| Old Friends | 15 |
| Old Black Lab in the First Snow | 16 |
| Scratch a Dog | 17 |
| Devotion | 18 |
| Comfort | 19 |
| A Dog's Prayer | 20 |
| Folks Will Know | 22 |
| A Dog's Acceptance | 23 |
| If You Can | 24 |
| 2 | Cats | 27 |
| Cats Make Us Feel Good | 29 |
| Magician | 30 |
| Peace Keeper | 31 |
| Time Spent Watching a Cat | 32 |
| The Difference Between Dogs and Cats | 33 |
| Basic Rules for Cats Who Have a House to Run | 34 |
| The Cat | 37 |
| Psalm for a Cat Owner | 38 |
| Companion | 39 |
| The King of Cats Sends a Postcard to His Wife | 40 |
| On a Cat, Aging | 41 |
| Room for One More | 42 |
| Cat from the Animal Shelter | 43 |
| Cat-Haiku-Esque-Poem | 44 |
| I Will Always Remember | 45 |
| Passerby | 46 |
| A Question | 48 |
| Stray Cat | 49 |
| Cats as Teachers | 50 |
| 3 | Other Animals | 51 |
| A Fieldmouse's Prayer | 53 |
| All God's Creatures | 55 |
| Three Little Fish | 57 |
| Grace | 58 |
| A Pony's Prayer | 60 |
| Last Chance | 61 |
| The First of May | 66 |
| Midwife to Miracles | 67 |
| On Guardian Angels | 68 |
| In the Presence of Angels | 69 |
| Home Delivery | 70 |
| Bird Mother | 71 |
| Birds Make Great Sky-Circles | 72 |
| The Communion of Saints | 73 |
| Deer Domain | 74 |
| In Deer Country | 76 |
| The Grasshopper and the Cricket | 77 |
| Atlantic Dolphins | 78 |
| In a Moonlit Night | 80 |
| Again, Frogs | 81 |
| Bee! I'm Expecting You! | 82 |
| The Good Life | 83 |
| 4 | Partings | 85 |
| Time to Say Good-bye | 87 |
| Mourning the Death of a Pet | 88 |
| Long Lost ... Long Remembered | 89 |
| Prayer for a Pet's Memorial Service | 90 |
| Prayer for the Burial of a Bird | 91 |
| Funeral Prayer | 92 |
| Farewell, Old Friend | 94 |
| An Epitaph | 95 |
| Passing On | 96 |
| At the Grave of a Fine Cat | 97 |
| A Memorial for a Pet | 98 |
| In the Loss of Your Pet | 99 |
| A Dog Lover's Prayer | 100 |
| Dogs in Heaven? | 102 |
| Friends in the Great Beyond | 103 |
| The Love They Give Us | 104 |
| Northwest Indian Memorial on Death | 105 |
| 5 | Reflections | 107 |
| If Having a Soul | 109 |
| Do Animals Have Souls? | 110 |
| They Shall Teach Thee | 112 |
| Ethical Conduct | 113 |
| Love Animals | 114 |
| Hurt No Living Thing | 115 |
| Moral Progress | 116 |
| Living Holy | 117 |
| A True Perspective | 118 |
| Animals Are Such Agreeable Friends | 119 |
| I Think I Could Turn and Live with the Animals | 120 |
| To Portland Cement from Robert Frost | 121 |
| Contemplation | 122 |
| Child's Lesson | 123 |
| Dream Time | 124 |
| All Things Are Connected | 126 |
| The Animals Never Yell at Me | 127 |
| An Animal's Eyes | 128 |
| The Peace of Wild Things | 129 |
| If I Knew the Ways of Animals | 130 |
| God's Special Providence | 132 |
| God in All Things | 133 |
| Talk to the Animals | 134 |
| In Their Innocence and Wisdom | 135 |
| Prayer for an Ill Pet | 136 |
| To Be of Service | 137 |
| Why Do I Care So Much? | 138 |
| Compassion | 140 |
| Until One Has Loved an Animal | 141 |
| We All Belong to the Same Family | 142 |
| Respect for Life | 143 |
| All Things Bright and Beautiful | 144 |
| 6 | Inspiration | 145 |
| A Prayer for the Feast of St. Francis | 147 |
| Animal Blessing for the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi | 148 |
| A Prayer for a Pet Blessing | 150 |
| A Prayer for Animals | 151 |
| I Sing for the Animals | 152 |
| A Prayer for Protecting Animals | 153 |
| Blessings | 154 |
| Buddhist Prayer | 155 |
| A Blessing for a Child's New Pet | 156 |
| In Appreciation of the Family Pet | 157 |
| Rainforest Life | 158 |
| Blessings in All Directions | 159 |
| Hear Our Humble Prayer | 161 |
| Author Index | 163 |
| Permissions and Acknowledgments | 165 |
| Photo Credits | 168 |
Read an Excerpt
IF YOU CAN
If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can get going without pep pills,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with
your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be
grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too
busy to give you any time,
If you can overlook it when something goes wrong
through no fault of yours and those you love
take it out on you,
If you can take criticism and blame without
resentment,
If you can ignore a friend's limited education and
never correct him,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a
poor friend,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you
have no prejudice against creed, color, religion,
or politics,
Then, my friends, you are almost as good as your dog.
-Author unknown
IN DEER COUNTRY
Part leaf, part shade,
they stand beside the road,
and we are foreign. Out there
at the edge of the clearing,
some drift into the sun,
faces lowered to crop clover,
backs flecked with light.
In deer country, they live
in their own time; even running,
their limbs flow softly into grass,
their bodies weave like water.
They are the old way
of moving on the Earth.
-Penny Harter
TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE
As we lay our hands upon you,
Before your final rest,
Our hearts surround to love you,
And thank you for yourbest.
Our home you watched and treasured,
Our lives you truly blessed.
Lessening now your burdens,
We tend your tired bones.
Let us be your pillow,
Then wings to take you home.
Listen for God's calling,
Sweet promises of peace.
Old friend, leap to Heaven,
Suffering released!
-Annie Dougherty
THE LOVE THEY GIVE US
Not only is there always another good animal in need of a good home, but we must remember to be thankful for the time and love our animals give us while they are here. Take time to enjoy them and learn from them. As painful as it is to lose them, they teach us to love unselfishly, they teach us to live each day to the fullest, they teach us how to grow old gracefully, and they teach us how to die with dignity. We do them a disrespect to focus only on the sorrow of their death when they have given us so much joy through their life. If we wish to honor them, take what they have given us, all that love, and give it back to another animal in need of help.
-Kent C. Greenough
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