JACK'S WINNING WORDS 8/16/06
“Quarrelsome dogs come limping home.” (Swedish Saying) Dogs can teach us lots of lessons. Tiger was one of our family’s favorites. I can’t remember that he ever came limping home. We’d tell him to pick up something from the floor and put it in the waste basket, and he’d do it. Do you have an interesting dog story? ;-) Jack

JON IN OHIO COMMENTS:
Is Congress on recess?

DOGS ARE SMART! When I was a kid I can remember a a neat dog story. There was the only toy Dobberman I have ever seen. This was long enough ago that folks would let their dogs just run the neighborhood. Somehow this little guy got hurt and had a pin in his hip (you could see the pin on the out side). This dog could run nearly as fast on three legs as he could on four. After some time the pin wsa removed. You could watch him run down the street, as he would approach someone, they would say 'oh look at the poor little dog' and he would pull up the bad leg catch the sympathy. And then once past he would drop the bum leg and carry on. He sure had learned quickly how to play up a good thing. (From Pete in S. H.)

OLD SHEP (One of my all-time favorites!)
When I was a lad And old Shep was a pup Over hills and meadows we'd stray Just a boy and his dog We were both full of fun We grew up together that way
I remember the time at the old swimmin' hole When I would have drowned beyond doubt But old Shep was right there To the rescue he came He jumped in and then pulled me out
As the years fast did roll Old Shep he grew old His eyes were fast growing dim And one day the doctor looked at me and said I can't do no more for him Jim
With hands that were trembling I picked up my gun And aimed it at Shep's faithful head I just couldnt do it I wanted to run I wish they would shoot me instead
He came to my side And looked up at me And laid his old head on my knee I had struck the best friend that a man ever had I cried so I scarcely could see
Old Shep he has gone Where the good doggies go And no more with old Shep will I roam But if dogs have a heaven There's one thing I know Old Shep has a wonderful home

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
I have a book with the title, "Will My Dog Go To Heaven?" written by Heidi and Jorg Zink. Do you think that there're dogs in heaven? I believe it was Mark Twain who said, "If there are no dogs in heaven, I don't want to go there."
Let your mind wander. What would it be like to have dogs in heaven? ;-) Jack

I LIKED THIS DOG STORY FROM N. R. BURR: My parents had 4 different dogs during their lifetime, and each dog was given the same name "Pat". I don't know if that single name was just for simplicity, or if it was their way of keeping the memory of each dog alive from one pet to the next. All were very loving dogs.

HERE'S A "DOG" PROVERB FROM TIPPIE'S "DAD"...."Don't bite the hand that feeds you."

FROM MARY IN ILLINOIS:
when we were little and still living in northern wisconsin, my dad aquired a black lab through a good friend who bred hunting dogs. he was pretty excited. much to my dad's dismay, manfred "the wonder dog" became a retriever of children-not hunted creatures. manfred was very afraid of storms and would hide under the dining room table when thunder boomed. one of my fondest early childhood memories was finding ruthie under the table with her arm around manfred. she was consoling him and i heard her say, "manfred, let me tell you all about god. never fear god is near".
after all "dog" is "god" spelled backwards.
reminds me of one of my favorite hymns-"all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small. all things wise and wonderful, the lord god made them all!"

FROM CINDY IN N.H.: At least there will be dogs in my heaven! "God turns clouds inside out to make fluffy beds for the dogs in Dog Heaven, and when they are tired from running and barking and eating ham sandwich biscuits, the dogs each find a cloud bed for sleeping." -Cynthia Rylant

AND P.L. WRITES: We had a dog named Brandy who when he was thirsty would bring his bowl into us and drop it on the floor!

AMY FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE has an interesting and newsy blog. Here's what she says about dogs. I like what Samuel Butler had to say about our canine companions: “The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.”