Ten
Commandments for Pet Owners
1.
My life is likely to last 10 to 15
years. Any separation from you will be very painful.
2.
Give me time to understand what you
want from me. Do not break my spirit with your
temper, though I will always forgive you. Your
patience and understanding will teach me more
quickly those things you want me to learn.
3.
Treat me kindly, my beloved friend,
for no heart in all the
world is more grateful for your kindness than mine.
Don't be angry with me for long, and don't lock me
up as punishment. After all, you have your job, your
friends, your
entertainment. I have only you.
4.
Speak to me often. Even if I don't
understand all your words, I understand your voice
when it's speaking to me. Your voice is the sweetest
sound I ever hear, as you must know by my
enthusiastic excitement when your footsteps fall
upon my waiting ear.
5.
Please take me inside when it's cold
and wet. I'm a domestic animal and no longer am
accustomed to the bitter elements. I ask for little
more than your gentle hands petting me.
6.
Keep my bowl filled with clean water;
I cannot tell you when I'm thirsty. Feed me good
food so that I may stay well, to romp and play and
do your bidding, to be by your side, and stand
ready, willing and able to share with you my life,
for that is what I live for. However you treat me,
I'll never forget it.
7.
Don't hit me. Remember, I have teeth
that could easily crush the bones in your hand, but
I choose not to bite you.
8.
Before you scold me for being lazy or
uncooperative, ask yourself if something
might be bothering me.
Perhaps I am not getting the right food, I've been
out in the sun too long, or my heart is getting old
and weak.
9.
Take care of me when I get old. You
will grow old, too.
10.
When I am very old, when I no longer
enjoy good health, please do not make heroic efforts
to keep me going. I am not having fun. Just see to
it that my trusting life is taken gently. And be
with me on that difficult journey when it is time to
say "goodbye". Never say, "I can't bear to watch."
Everything is easier for me when you are there. I
will leave this earth knowing with my last breath
that my fate was always safest in your hands.
Remember - I love you.
--
Author Unknown
