Rachswid,

After reading the article you posted, I had to get this off my refrigerator and post it.

This may have been a coincidence, but it was in our local newspaper right after I had to have my pointer, Bell, put down because of cancer. I'll condense it some.

"MAYBE THIS EXPLAINS WHY SOME GOOD PEOPLE LEAVE EARTH SO SOON."
This vet that wrote the article said he had to go to a friends home to put down a dog of a friend so that they wouldn't have to go thru it at his office. The couple had a four year old son, Shane, and the dogs name was Belker. When he got to the home he (Vet) felt the familiar catch in his throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.

Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for awhile after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animals lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me-I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "Everybody is born so that they can learn how to live a good life-like loving everybody and being nice, right?" The four year old continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

I'm 56 now, and every time I read this article on my frig. and articles like you posted, it breaks my heart to think anyone would mistreat a dog or any animal.

I sit here right now with three dogs laying near my feet and "I SWEAR, I THINK MORE OF THESE DOGS THAN MOST PEOPLE I KNOW."

Thanks for the Post.

dog1