What’s the best invention in the history of the world? Fire? Nope. The wheel? Nope. Spandex? Okay, now you’re not even trying. The answer is dogs. Those four-footed, tail wagging bearers of unbridled glee and boundless love. Those furry, panting creatures who wait anxiously for your return from a long trip to the mailbox.
In their eyes, you, with your flaws and idiosyncrasies and shortcomings, are perfect. Even when you wake up, all morning breath and cowlicks and stubble, you’re the most delightful, most dazzling human being alive. They don’t care what you’re wearing or how you look, they don’t care if you’ve put on weight or lost your hair. They don’t judge. They don’t criticize. They just love and what they love is you.
You can’t buy that kind of friendship. You can’t even earn it. But from your dog, that warm, furry lump on the couch, you get it freely and with great abandon. If everyone in the world had a dog, had the companionship of a friend such as they, maybe this would be a kinder place. If everyone was rewarded with long, sloppy licks and the steadfast loyalty of a dog, maybe we wouldn’t be so quick to harm.
So you know what I would do if I were queen? First, I’d release all the dogs and cats and birds and hamsters and turtles from all the shelters in all the lands. Then I’d give those same creatures to abandoned and neglected kids who know the despair, who know the loneliness. The kids who need, more than anything, to be loved and cherished. Who need to learn to trust enough to love. And where better to find an endless supply of joyous, reckless, unconditional love? Where better to find a dependable, trustworthy companion than in a pet? Of any kind?
Think of the happiness that could come out of such a situation. Think of the friendships that could blossom and flourish. It could bring an end to so much heartache, to so much sorrow. And that is what I would do if I were queen. I would put an end to sadness and bring a beginning to hope.
It’s not a practical solution, I know, but it’s a wonderful thought. The innocent ones, the kids, would find the goodness and the love so long missing from their lives. And the pets, the abused and mistreated, would discover the kindness that can come from a human hand, a human heart. And all would be right with the world.
Can you imagine that?
Copyright © Publikworks 2011.
the whirly girl 
2 responses to “If I were queen.”
You’re so, so right! I started my own independent dog rescue & sanctuary in 2009, so I’m working on it in my little corner of the world: a Deep South corner that is not so dog-friendly.
I’m on my way home now to hug the rescues on my farm (all 19 dogs and 7 cats). Some are awaiting new homes, some are with me til the end, all are fabulous.
If everyone felt the way you did, we wouldn’t have this problem! There are so many folks that didn’t “inherit the dog gene” as I put it. I will never understand but I’m always glad to find someone else out there who gets it.
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Thanks, Michelle, what a terrific thing you’re doing; I admire people like you. Please keep up the good work, the world needs more of your brand of kindness. So, on behalf of dog lovers everywhere, thank you.
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