Puppy Dog Tales
December 2014

photo by 2@charicho

The Skylark Soars Again

by Daisy Mae Delray

“On the first lightening of dawn, up from the meadow where it has slept, the small brown Skylark begins its climb.” Up, up in ever widening circles the lark flies skyward until it disappears completely from sight All the while, although the bird cannot be seen, a flood of melodious song comes pouring down.”

It is December and a month of special days to share with family and friends.  It is also the last month of the year, where the days of the past year are shed and put behind us and we contemplate the New Year to come.  2015 will be a year of challenges that will require much from you humans.  Aren’t you glad that you have us pet companions in your life to comfort you and to share what ever life brings?

We are always waiting for you to come home, to greet you and sooth away the troubles of the day. We drag you off your posteriors and get you out in the fresh air. We are part of rescue teams and we are service animals who help you live an independent life. We are medically proven to be good therapy for psychological heath and for medical conditions like high blood pressure.

We are a part of your family and can help you teach your children about taking responsibility. We are brave, loyal, playful, great companions, loving, there during sorrow and sadness, hopeful, endure all for love and proud of our place in the lives of humans. We are amazing!

This is my last column of the year so I shall take the opportunity to thank you for reading what I write and for taking me seriously. I suppose you know that I don’t write alone. I have a human partner, Christina Richardson, who rescued me in 2004. Together we write about the human/pet companion bond. We are both so grateful. With her typing skills, I have the opportunity to share my column with you. To tell you stories about remarkable people and their special pets.

For the holidays, consider the gift of four-legged love. A new pet is always a great gift although letting the recipient do the choosing is the best way to go. You could give a gift certificate from your local animal shelter for the cost of an adoption. A gift card from you for pet supplies or food would also be a grand gift.

Shelter animals seem to know they have been rescued and make wonderful pets. An example is a small black terrier which came to the Hancock County Animal Shelter in May with a fractured leg.  Friends of the Animal Shelter in Hancock County came to the rescue and paid for her surgery out of their Gumbo Fund.

Here she is with her new cast.

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As will happen we were at the shelter when she came back from surgery.  The little girl came to our house to be fostered until her leg had healed. After a few days we realized that she was not going anywhere so Argyle Petitfore McDougal is now a member of our family. Visit Friends of the Animal Shelter in Hancock County’s Facebook page for more information on available pets at the Hancock County Animal Shelter and how you can help make the holidays bright for a deserving dog or cat.

In the past months there have been a number of wonderful events that raised money for shelter animals in Hancock County. People really care around here. Why you should have heard the uproar when Waveland tried to ban dogs from the beach. Touch an important subject and expect petitions with hundreds of signatures.

We are so excited to tell you that we are having the first all canine Mardi Gras parade on the Mississippi Gulf Coast on January 24, 2015 at 1:00 pm in Diamondhead.  The theme of the parade is “Diamonds are a Dog’s Best Friend,” with the proceeds going to benefit animal shelters on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Please visit the Pupseidon Facebook page for more details. I have to add that the king and queen will ride on decorated carts pulled by miniature horses, one of which is my miniature horse sibling, Cheyenne. Not too proud or anything!

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As a present from both of us I share with you this letter. It was written in 1513 by Fra Giovanni to a friend on New Year’s Eve.

“I salute you!

I am your friend and my love for you goes deep. There is nothing I can give you which you have not got. But there is much, very much, that, while I cannot give it, you can take. No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today. Take Heaven! No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instance. Take Peace! The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet, within our reach, is joy. Take Joy! Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty…that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven. Courage then to claim it, that is all…And so, I greet you…with profound esteem and with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and the shadows flee away.”

Keep your tail high and your feet dry! Love, Daisy Mae

The Puppy Dog Tales Column
is sponsored by
Daisy Mae's blog of the same name

Puppy Dog Tales

Daisy Mae Delray is a seizure-alert dog and author of Puppy Dog Tales - both the column and the blog of the same name.  She has been writing about the human-pet companion bond since 2004 as a journalist for a number of newspapers including the Alexandria Times and the Sea Coast Echo.

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