A dog is one of the remaining reasons why some people can be persuaded to go for a walk. ~O.A. Battista

 Sometimes when life has gone wrong with you,

And the world seems a dreary place,
Has your dog ever silently crept to your feet,
His yearning eyes turned to your face—
Has he made you feel that he understands,
And all that he asks of you
Is to share your lot, be it good or ill,
With a chance to be loyal and true?
Are you branded a failure? He does not know—
A sinner? He does not care—
You're "master" to him—that's all that counts—
A word, and his day is fair.
Your birth and your station are nothing to him;
A palace and a hut are the same—
And his love is yours, in honor and peace,
And it's yours through disaster or shame.
Though others forget you, and pass you by,
He is ever your faithful friend—
Who is ready to give you the best that is his,
Unstintedly to the end.
~Esther B. Darling