The Power of The Dog

The following comes from an apparently now defunct blog titled Smokey Mountain Mental Breakdown. The owner, Rosie Wolf, writes so well, I'm sorry the blog has not been maintained. I wonder if she has one somewhere else? She's a dog lover and this entry was about losing your best friend: "Rudyard Kipling wrote a wonderful poem called, 'The Power of The Dog', in which he asked an important rhetorical question. We've sorrow enough in the natural way, When it comes to burying Christian clay. Our loves are not given, but only lent, At compound interest of cent per cent. Though it is not always the case, I believe, That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve. For, when debts are payable, right or wrong, A short-time loan is as bad as a long. So why in Heaven (before we are there) Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear? Kipling was well aware of the answer, as are most of us who gladly and freely give our hearts to a dog to tear. The joy and happiness they bring, when allowed to fully express their part in the human/animal bond, surpasses even the healthiest human relationships. It's the only place on this plane that we can truly be assured of achieving that holiest of holies, unconditional love."