For the love of our 4 legged pals......

My wife and I lost two of our dogs in the last year, both who were only about 12 years old.  It is tough as they come in & out of your life, always giving you the full devotion of their loyalty.

This author describes why if more of our POLS had dogs, we may have better leadership in government.  I feel he may be on to something -

America needs more dogs in politics, especially Labs

January 17, 2013 - Washington Examiner

Former Arkansas Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee did something Thursday that ought to remind us of a crucial fact about our politics and politicians. Huckabee shared on Facebook his grief and joy in losing Jet, a handsome black Labrador retriever who was his "inseparable companion and confidante for almost 15 years."

Be forewarned: If you love dogs, Huckabee's description of himself as "inconsolable" as he and his wife, Janet, held Jet in his last moments of life will likely moisten your eyes: "Jet asked for nothing except for basic necessities and a little bit of attention. For that, I enjoyed his unflinching loyalty, fidelity, and his calming presence. I loved that dog and always will. There was never a day that Jet didn't make me laugh in the almost 15 years we were together. Only on his last day with me did he make me cry."

"Jet asked for nothing except for basic necessities and a little bit of attention. For that, I enjoyed his unflinching loyalty, fidelity, and his calming presence. I loved that dog and always will." - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Claudia and I had the same experience a year ago when we had to put down our Abby, a chocolate Lab who was my "sweetheart baby-girl Labbie" for a dozen years.

Like Jet, Abby was special, from her nose (made crooked by a mysterious incident that would have ended her life at seven weeks had Claudia not reserved her for my 50th birthday) to her long, thick tail that wagged at the slightest provocation.

Abby never met another creature, human or otherwise, that she didn't love at first sight. She exulted in running, often with her hindquarters hunkered down as only Labs can. And she loved to ride in the front seat of my truck, eager to go wherever the moment might take us.

She also had a clock in her head. Otherwise, I can't explain why, after discovering Frosty Paws at about age 5, she stood by the refrigerator pawing at the door every evening at 8 expecting the night's treat.

Then at 10, she would get up from wherever she was lying and stand there impatiently waiting for us to follow her to the bedroom for the evening's repose.

I could go on about Abby, but, suffice it to say, hardly a day goes by that I don't think about her and chuckle over something she did. And sometimes shed a little tear.

So what do Abby and Jet have to do with anything in this town? After the 2008 election, Huckabee became a cable TV personality with his successful Saturday evening show on Fox News. As it happens, I usually, though not always, agree with Huckabee on the issues of the day. But when I read about his love for Jet, I was reminded that probably anybody anywhere on the political spectrum could do the same thing, given the right circumstances.

Huckabee shared a part of himself in that post that we rarely glimpse in our public figures these days. It's easy to take them for granted because politicians take predictable positions, deliver predictable speeches, cast predictable votes in Congress.

Ditto for the people in the advocacy groups, lobbying outfits and think tanks. Predictable positions, predictable speeches, predictable, predictable, predictable ...

When everything becomes predictable, we tend to forget that out of the public eye these folks have hearts and emotions, suffer setbacks, hope for victories, and laugh and cry over big things and small, just like the rest of us.

Yes, Mr. Dooley was right. Politics ain't beanbag, but wouldn't it be great if Washington's warring parties and factions could somehow recover and nurture a recognition that we all have our Jets and Abbys?

Mark Tapscott is executive editor of The Washington Examiner

Our K-9 Friends....and the limited time we have with them

I have recently come to the sobering conclusion that “ Time ” is the most precious commodity we have.

No item you can obtain is more valuable, more needed, desired and more irreplaceable. Each of us is allotted a certain amount ( by a Heavenly Timekeeper) and when that allotment is up, it is up….there is no way to add time back on to the clock…..

I recently got to spend two great weeks at home with friends & family….now back in the AFGHN, I am feeling the full implication of how valuable the time I had at home is (and was)…my next break is likely not for another 5-7 months….ugh.

Some of this introspection was brought on by the news of the loss of a friend’s beloved K9 companion….I also have a friend who will likely lose his K-9 friend in the next few months due to cancer….Dogs come into our lives and leave well before we are ready to let them go….such is as it ever was…

Man and the ancestors of our K-9 friends made an unwritten, unspoken agreement 15000 years ago….we would provide warmth along with ready access to food & shelter – in turn, they would protect us from the things that lurked in the darkness that wanted to have us for dinner….it is likely the longest unbroken agreement in history as it has been honored by both sides without fail ever since.

My wife and I lost a beloved K-9 family member a number of years ago – the enclosed poem was a comfort to me at that time of loss….If heaven doesn’t include our K-9 friends, I don’t want to go.

She’s just my dog.
She is my other eyes that can see above the clouds;
My other ears that hear above the winds.
She is the part of me that can reach out into the sea.

She has told me a thousand times over that I am her reason for being.
By the way she rests against my leg.
By the way she wags her tail at my smallest smile.
By the way she shows her hurt when I leave without taking her.

( I think it makes her sick with worry when she is not along to care for me.)

When I am wrong, she is delighted to forgive me.
When I am angry, she clowns to make me smile.
When I am happy, she is joy unbounded.
When I am a fool, she ignores it.
When I succeed, she brags.

Without her, I am only another person.
With her, I am all-powerful…..and complete.
She has taught me the meaning of love and devotion.
She is loyalty itself.

With her, I know a secret comfort and a private peace.
She has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant.
Her head on my knee can heal my human hurts.
Her presesence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things.

She has promised to wait for me……Whenever……Wherever.
In case I need her.
And I expect I will – as I always have.
She is my dog.

Author Unknown