09/07/2024
A poem from a pound dog:
Today is the day that I will die.
My life was short, and I don't know why.
I didn't know this would be my fate,
As the humans just stood at my gate.
In their eyes, I saw their sorrow.
They told me I had no more time to borrow.
My seven days have come and gone.
I still do not know what I've done wrong.
I greeted the humans with a wagging tail,
But their resolve seemed to fail.
I did not understand why they cried.
They told me again that they had tried.
But rescues are full, and I'm on death row,
Which meant I had nowhere to go.
Except for that room at the end of the block,
It was only then I took stock.
I've seen others go in and never come out,
And at this point, I had no doubt.
Today was the day I would die,
And yet I still did not understand why.
As they led me kindly into that room,
I knew my life would end soon.
The needle came out, and the drugs took effect,
The humans held me kindly with respect.
This is the end, and I'm going to die.
And then suddenly, I understood why.
I was bred without care, without thought or reason,
Only because my mom came into season.
I was bred to be sold, bred for money.
At first, my new family thought I was funny.
But as days passed and I grew bigger,
Left alone all day, I began to digger.
Soon they said this was not the place for me,
So up went my ad on Gumtree.
Family dog free to a good home,
Five months old, and no fault of my own.
Next, the place was even less fun.
Kept in a cage, with no hope of a run.
Soon came my first season,
And now I was bred without reason.
My pups were sold, and I was alone.
I hope they've all found loving homes.
Shut in a cage, alone and in the dark,
For hours on end, I would just bark.
Once again, I became too much trouble,
So up went my ad on Gumtree.
The double work commitments forced the sale.
Only ten months old, it's a familiar tale.
The next people seemed nice at first,
But it wasn’t long before the bubble burst.
In this place, I was trained to fight,
But they gave up when I refused to bite.
They spoke to me as I was taken back to the crate,
"If you won’t fight, we’ll use you as bait."
I was chained to a post by my collar,
When other dogs attacked, I would holler.
This life went on for quite some time,
But I was soon told I was past my prime.
I thought we might have been going for a walk,
Yet in the car, there was no talk.
Slowly, the car came to a halt.
I was thrown out the door with a jolt.
I watched as the car sped away.
It was cold and dark, and I had nowhere to stay.
It was by this road that I was eventually found
And taken away by the local pound.
And here I lie as I take my last breath.
I have one thing to ask as I accept my death.