"Tis the night before Christmas and all through the town,
every shelter is full: we are lost, but not found.
Our numbers are hung on our kennels so bare;
we hope every minute that someone will care.
They'll come to adopt us and give us a call,
"Come Max," or "Come Sparky," "Come fetch your new ball!"
But now we sit here and think of the days
we were treated so fondly for our cute baby ways.
Once we were little, then we grew and we grew...
and now we're not young and we're no longer new.
So out the back door we were thrown like the trash.
They reacted so quickly; why were they so rash?
We 'jump on the children,' 'don't come when they call,'
we 'bark wehn they leave us,' 'climb over the wall."
We should have been neutered, we should have been spayed,
now we suffere the results of the errors THEY'VE made.
If only they'd train us; if only we knew,
we'd have done what they asked and worshiped them, too.
We were left in the backyard, or worse, let to roam;
now we're tired and loney and out of a home.
They dropped us off here and kissed us good-bye.
'Maybe somebody else will give you a try.'
So now here we are, all confused and slone,
in a shelter with others who long for a home.
The kind workers come through, with a meal and a pat.
With so many to care for, they can't stay to chat.
They move to each kennel, giving all of us cheer.
But we know that they wonder how long we'll be here.
We lie down to sleep and sweet dreams fill our heads,
of a home filled with love adn our own cozy beds.
Then we wake to see sad eyes, brimming with tears:
Our friends, filled with emptiness, worry and fear.
If you can't adopt us and there's no room at the Inn,
could you help pay the bills and fill our food bin?
We count on your kindness every day of the year...
can you give more than hope for all of us here?
Please make a donation to pay for the heat,
and help get us something special to eat.
The shelter that cares for us wants us to live,
and more of us will, if more people give."
~Author Unknown
