Better Than Gold

Four little paws,

And a wiggly black nose.

Such soft, furry ears.

And a tail that follows wherever it goes.

Undying affection,

And great emotion.

Nothing comes close

To it’s enthusiasm and never-ending devotion.

Constant companion,

And stalwart sentry.

A house is no home,

Without one or another guarding the entry.

A warm presence,

And cuddles abound.

Oxytocin releases

Are assured when such unadulterated love is found.

Love is in all things

And some much more so.

Take our companions,

Furred and four footed, so immense does it grow.

So whisper sweet nothings

To this human lover or that.

But remember: When they are gone,

drying your tears will be your dog or your cat!

My son gets incredibly annoyed when driving anywhere with me because I point out interesting things on the way. Old classic cars, pretty lights, landmarks, funny sights (no one believes me, but I saw 2 people running around a shed, chasing each other.... wearing toucan costumes. No, I did not fall asleep at the wheel, I don’t take drugs and never drink and drive).

But the most common thing I point out are animals. Sometimes it’s sheep, cattle, horses, goats, emus. Sometimes it’s birds of prey, ducks and their ducklings, cockatoos and occasionally kangaroos.

Most of the time it’s people walking their dogs. Once, a cat. On a leash and everything. It drives him crazy because I do it so often! But nothing makes me smile more than the pure joy in every action and line of a dog’s body when they are out for a walk.

This is the first thing I’d show an alien on earth. Our gorgeous furred friends. Either because the alien is nice and will appreciate patting such beautiful animals (I know I say cats and dogs in the poem, but guinea pigs and rabbits didn’t rhyme! I’d show them all of our pets. Except maybe the spiders). Or because they don’t come in peace and maybe I can convince them they can’t go War of the World’s on our asses because it’d make the puppies and kittens sad. How can anyone resist puppy-dog eyes?!