A Prayer for Pups

[Sudilar]

A Prayer for Pups

We pray for pups
who put their paws everywhere
Who like to have their tummies rubbed
Who run through puddles right after their baths
Who beg for treats even though they just had their dinner
Who chew holes through our shoes
Who want their balls thrown over and over.

And we pray for those
Who stare at one place from behind wire cages
Who can't run across a field on legs that aren't stiff
Who have never played fetch
Who are born in places we can hardly imagine
Who never go to a park
Who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for pups
Who kiss us everywhere they can
Who meet us with ecstacy every time we return
(even if it's only been 10 minutes)
Who take up most of the bed and want most of the blankets
Who tear up rolls of toilet paper
Who gulp their food

And we pray for those who never get treats
Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them
Who watch their Mamas watch them starve
Who don't have leftovers to sneak
Who don't have a hand to comfort them when they are in pain
Who don't have anyone to know they are in pain
Who's pictures are on no one's dresser
Who's monsters are real

We pray for pups that howl at baths
Who can't stand to have their nails clipped or their teeth cleaned

And we pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime
Who cringe from human hands, because they have never known a caress
Who stand day after day in their own leavings
Who have never been spoiled
Who live and move but have no being

We pray for those
Who want to be carried

And for those who must.

Author unknown