The Purple Greyhound

"If you can stand up for what you love against all odds - then you are
alive! Your imagination can leap the clouds. Your heart can race
across the endless sands of time. The passion, adventure and glory of
Arabian horses will live within you forever. And yours will be the
Fate of the Stallion!"   -- Ron Hevener

Those Paws

by: Tina Wiepert for ReRun

Those paws learned at an early age how to work hard for a living and never knowing more than the inside of a kennel or a racetrack.

Those paws were held when you first traveled in the back of a truck, scared, shaking and unsure because you weren't in a crate as you were on your way to a new home - your forever home.

Those paws were held for weeks as we slept together on the floor downstairs until you were brave enough to try the stairs for a first time.

Those paws dug in the dirt on hot summer days to make a nice cool spot to lay in while you watched us work in the yard.

Those paws stepped into mud and left footprints around the house (and in our hearts).

Those paws all bandaged up when you broke a nail, but never stopping you from having fun (at least not for long).

Those paws having fun pouncing and bouncing, playing with squeaky toys.

Those paws walked the paths and streets with us so you could catch up on all the smells in the neighborhood and maybe even meet a neighbor dog.

Those paws lay next to us night after night, sometimes running and playing as you sleep. Those paws fluffed blankets and pillows so they are just in the right places.

Those paws were there during our hardest family times and through the happiest.

Those paws played and ran with your true love, your first sister of your forever family, your sole mate, and walked side by side without hesitating.

Those paws held me when we cried when she left us from this world.

Those paws greeted a new sister and learned how much fun snow can be.

Those paws in my hands, soft yet firm, tender yet strong, showing the love you have to share teaching me that things can get better no matter how bad they are, they can get better by just a simple touch.

Those paws have been through so much and one day those paws will be held not by me but by God. And that day, I will cry and I will thank you for picking our family to be yours, and I will miss you and all our days that we would just sit or lay and hold

Those paws.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/284846/those_paws.html

"LET THE MUSIC PLAY"
Written & Illustrated by Ron Hevener

Article for Submission .....
Feel free to share this article with newsletter/magazine editors --
webmasters -- horse/dog/cat clubs -- "any" appropriate group, person
or publication.

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which can be customized for your particular readers.  We would
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ON WITH THE SHOW! ... Let The Music Play ... Ron Hevener

https://www.ronhevener.com/essays/LetTheMusicPlay.html
(Click On This Link to View Illustration)

   Funny, how we never seem to know what's just around the corner. We
go about our lives: working, laughing, loving . . . and we never know
how our life is going to turn out.  I know this doesn't sound like the
goal-oriented thinkers that I encourage people to be. I encourage
animal lovers to be their best and to reach as high as they possibly
can. After all, if we don't reach for the stars, how can we ever touch
them? Yes, I know . . . Childish words ....
    Maybe it's the moody weather outside as I'm writing this, here in
Michigan, on a horse farm that has seen better days and certainly has
its woes ... maybe, for just a while, as I look at broken fences and
barns begging for paint, I know how much we need those hopes and
dreams I'm always talking about. That's when I turn on the radio.
   I let the music play as we're getting ready for a show. Not just
any show, but a show that's become important to everybody around here.
What's so important about it this time? This time, it's important just
to be there. It's important to let everyone see that we're still in
the game. It's important for us, ourselves, to know we're still in the
game, I think to myself, as the music plays.
   Animal lovers are very different from other people. When life
throws road blocks at us, we can't stop and pity ourselves if it's
taking longer now to get where we want to go. Unlike our friends, we
don't have that luxury. Yes, of course, we can pull over and pity
ourselves for a while. But, we can't do it for long. We can't pity
ourselves for long because we've got other lives depending on us.
    Maybe it's just a puppy or a kitten. Maybe it's a horse. Maybe
it's a whole kennel or a cattery or an aviary or a farm. The point is:
The show can only go on if we get out of bed in the morning, put one
foot in front of the other, and do whatever we have to do to keep the
bills paid and the animals fed.
   Animal lovers are people with big hearts. Sometimes, those hearts
are too big for our own good. It doesn't matter how late we stayed up
last night, reading or watching TV or talking on the phone until we
fell asleep ... it doesn't matter how long we stayed out ... it doesn't
matter what we thought, or said, or dreamed last night.
    Do you hear the rooster crowing? It's time to get up again ... time
to make eggs and pancakes ... time to pour some coffee.  What matters is
that we get up, feed our pets and all the rest of the animals that
depend on us. What matters is that we sing to the radio and fill the
place with music -- all the way from the floor to the rafters and out
every window into the world around us.
   Animals like music. They like the sound and the feeling of it. They
like the way music goes through their skin and all the way into their
soul and they are very true about what they like to hear. Sometimes,
they like soft music; other times, they like a great symphony. As a
singer, I know the best songs are ones that animals like to hear. I've
heard of singers letting their animals pick the songs they record in
the studio. I'm one of those singers. Of the many songs I've recorded
over the years, the most successful were the ones my animals liked
best. "I Wish You Love" was one of those songs.
   Funny, how music fills us with emotion ... Funny, how our animals do
the same thing ... Why is that?
   I don't know. I don't know the answer to that any more than I know
the answer to the mystery that brings new life into the world, keeps
it going for a while, and then takes it away ... I just don't know.
    What I do know (and I know it no matter what happens) is that, as
long as I have animals, I will have something to do. I will never
wonder what is happening today, or tomorrow. I know my animals will
need fed, watered, groomed and cared for. I know I'll do my best for
them ... and I'll let the music play.


ILLUSTRATION BY RON HEVENER:
https://www.ronhevener.com/essays/LetTheMusicPlay.html

 
  

Do you have a fun quote, story or joke that is pet related? Would you like to share it?

Email me and if I think it's appropriate, I'll add it! (include a photo if you would like too!)