<\/p>\n
This wonderful story has been circulating on the dog lists and hits the nail on the head in my opinion!!! I don’t know the author or point of origin, but please enjoy. <\/p>\n
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker’s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ‘I know why.’<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n He said, ‘People are born so that they can learn how to live a good Life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?’ The six-year-old continued, ‘Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.’<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Live simply.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Love generously.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Care deeply.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Speak kindly.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Take naps.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Stretch before rising.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Run, romp, and play daily.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Thrive on attention and let people touch you.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This wonderful story has been circulating on the dog lists and hits the nail on the head in my opinion!!! I don’t know the author or point of origin, but please enjoy. Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,29],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rattlebridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rattlebridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rattlebridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rattlebridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rattlebridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rattlebridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rattlebridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rattlebridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rattlebridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}