Guardians of the Night

By Terry Orr

I recently just finished reading the second book featuring Detective Michael Gideon and his dog Sirius of the LAPD by Alan Russell.  Both books are good reads and highly recommend them both.

The following poem, ‘Guardians of the Night’ was mentioned during the story – both my wife and I found this poem heartwarming and spoke volumes of these special four-legged animals who give so very much. 

We hope you will enjoy and share this poem as well.

Guardians Of The Night

Author – Unknown

Trust in me my friend for I am

your comrade. I will protect you

with my last breath When all

others have left you And the

loneliness of the night closes

in, I will be at your side.

Together we will conquer all

obstacles, And search out

those who might wish harm to

others. All I ask of you is

compassion, The caring touch

of your hands. It is for you that I

will unselfishly give my life And

spend my nights unrested.

Although our days together

May be marked by the passing

of the seasons Know that each

day at your side is my reward.

My days are measured by The

coming and going of your

footsteps. I anticipate them at

every opening of the door. You

are the voice of caring when I

am ill. The voice of authority

when I've done wrong.

Do not chastise me unduly For

I am your right arm, The sword

at your side. I attempt to do

only what you bid of me. I seek

only to please you and remain

in your favor.

Together you and I shall

experience A bond only others

like us will understand When

outsiders see us together Their

envy will be measured by their

disdain.

I will quietly listen to you And

pass no judgment, Nor will your

spoken words be repeated I will

remain ever silent, Ever vigilant,

ever loyal. And when our time

together is done And you move

on in the world Remember me

with kind thoughts and tales,

For a time we were unbeatable,

Nothing passed among us

undetected.

If we should meet again on

another street I will gladly take

up your fight, I am a Police

Working Dog and together We

are guardians of the night.

Clean Dishes?

Can Cold Water Clean Dishes? This is for all the germ conscious folks that worry about using cold water to clean.

John went to visit his 90-year-old grandfather in a very secluded, rural area of Saskatchewan.

After spending a great evening chatting the night away, the next morning John's grandfather prepared breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast.

However, John noticed a film like substance on his plate, and questioned his grandfather asking,

'Are these plates clean?'

His grandfather replied, 'They're as clean as cold water can get em.

Just you go ahead and finish your meal, Sonny!'

For lunch the old man made hamburgers.

Again, John was concerned about the plates, as his appeared to have tiny specks around the edge that looked like dried egg and asked,

'Are you sure these plates are clean?'

Without looking up the old man said, 'I told you before, Sonny, those dishes are as clean as cold water can get them. Now don't you fret, I don't want to hear another word about it!'

Later that afternoon, John was on his way to a nearby town and as he was leaving, his grandfather's dog started to growl, and wouldn't let him pass.

John yelled and said, 'Grandfather, your dog won't let me get to my car'.

Without diverting his attention from the football game he was watching on TV, the old man shouted!

'Coldwater, go lay down now, yah hear me!'

Meet Coldwater!

Today is Mutt's Day

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By Diane Forrest

My son was married at the end of 2010.  His wife owned a dog, but it had been staying with her parents in Memphis.  Once they got married and moved into an apartment, she retrieved her blonde cocker spaniel, Dolce.  My son quickly learned that she had a soft spot for dogs, and they would visit the local animal shelter.  It was there that they met Charlie.  He had the cutest face, and was a mutt, but he had to come home with them.  Their story doesn’t end there, however.  6 months later they visited the shelter again and that's when they met Anna, a black and white mutt.  I now have 3, 4-legged grand puppies.  They are all spoiled, and well behaved, and are great company for my son and his wife.

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Today is Mutt's Day.  The most famous mutt is Benji.  He was made famous during his television series of the same name.  Benji was just a poor dog who had found his way to an animal shelter, and was adopted.  What makes a mutt so special? While purebreds come from a lineage of dogs of the same breed, mutts are a mix between two or more breeds. This means that no two mutts are alike—each is unique in its own way! These dogs certainly deserve a day of celebration for their diverse heritage.

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If you own a mutt, today is the day to show it a little extra attention, perhaps an extra special treat.  Spend the day relaxing and doing all the things you and your dog like to do. Do so with both of your chins held high. For your mutt is worth a million bucks!  If you don't have a mutt, or any type of dog, and are looking for some companionship, try visiting your local animal shelter and adopt one of these great animals.  They will fill your life with joy.

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Scoop the Poop Day

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By Diane Forrest

For as long as I can remember I have had a dog.  They make great pets, and great company.  Snoopy, my shih tzu was a gift to my husband after his last pup died.  My husband loved his doggies and spoiled them endlessly.  I have never been much of a dog person, ours always stayed outside in the back yard, and I had been bitten, so I guess that made me twice shy.  This gave my husband much concern.  He always told me that if he died, he wanted Snoopy put to sleep and buried with him.  After my husband passed away, it was just me and Snoopy left.  He is great company, looks after me, comforts me when I’m sad, and alerts me if there is someone here.

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Owning a pet is a big responsibility.  Not only are you responsible for any damage they do, you also have to pick up after them. In some areas they have dog parks.  Places you can take your dogs to run and play, but, not poop.  You must be prepared to remove any waste they may leave.  This week is Scoop the Poop week, to bring awareness to pet owners to clean up after their pups.

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"Dog droppings are one of the leading sources of E. coli (fecal coliforms) bacterial pollution: One gram of dog feces contains over 20,000,000 E. coli cells. While an individual animal's deposit of feces will not measurably affect the environment, the cumulative effect of thousands of dogs and cats in a metropolitan area can create serious problems due to contamination of soil and water supplies. The runoff from neglected pet waste contaminates water, creating health hazards for people, fish, ducks, etc." according to gone-ta-pot.com.

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Wikihow offers several methods in which to Scoop the Poop.  They include:

• Plastic bag method.  This involves placing a bag over your hand like a glove.  Picking up the poop, then turning the bag inside out and tying it off.  Then place in a trash receptacle.
• Pooper Scooper.  This is for large messes like your yard.  If you don’t actually want to handle the poop, you can scoop it with one of these devices and dispose of it in the plastic bag manner.
• Delegate.  You may want to hire a service that scoops poop for you, hire a pet sitter service, or make your kids do it.
• Deal with Pet Rebels.   You may run across someone who refuses to scoop their pet's poop.  In that case, offer them one of your plastic bags, explain the importance of keeping the environment clean, and if all else fails, and report them to the proper authority.  Those who refuse to obey the laws, lose the privileges for everyone.

Be Responsible....Scoop the Poop!

"Here I am to save the day"

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By Diane Forrest,

I just finished watching another holiday movie on Hallmark.  The movie was about a young man who went to his girlfriend's family's farm to meet her family before proposing to her.  The young man was a lawyer from the city, and the young woman was from a farm in the Midwest.  Once he arrived in her home town he learned there was a local man also vying for her attention.  In order to prove his worthiness to her family, he had "compete" in all types of farm life experiences.   Even though the challenges were difficult, he was able to overcome the obstacles and win the respect of the young lady's father and the rest of the family.

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Movies like that are so inspirational.  When you see the underdog able to accomplish things they never thought possible it makes you think that you too can accomplish goals that seem out of reach.  The term underdog is believed to come from the shipbuilding industry. Planks of wood were referred to as dogs and, as they were placed, one man had to supervise from above while another, the underdog, stood in the dark pit below, covered in dirt and sawdust.

Today when we use the word Underdog, we think of a participant in a fight, conflict, or game who is not expected to win, much like Rocky, in the boxing movies, or Daniel Larusso in the Karate Kid movies.  You find yourself cheering for the one who has the least chance, and in the end they pull through for the win.

Underdog was also the name of a cartoon super hero.  His phrases were "Never fear!  Underdog is here!"  and "Here I am to save the day".

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Today is National Underdog Day.  It was established in 1976 to keep unlikely heroes in mind.  So today we salute the underdogs who work just as hard as the heroes, but are never expected to make it out of the pit.