Sydney Pet Rescue & Adoption Inc.

Rescued Cat
also known as The Circle - for dogs
by Arlene Pace



Once I was a lonely cat,
Just looking for a home.
I had no place to go,
No one to call my own.
I wandered up and down the streets,
in rain in heat and snow.

I ate whatever I could find,
I was always on the go.
My skin would itch, my feet were sore,
My body ached with pain.
And no one stopped to give a pat
Or gently say my name

I never saw a loving glance,
I was always on the run.
For people thought that hurting me
was really lots of fun.
And then one day I heard a voice
So gentle, kind and sweet,
And arms so soft reached down to me
And took me off my feet.

"No one again will hurt you
Was whispered in my ear."
"You'll have a home to call your own
where you will know no fear"
"You will be dry, you will be warm,
you'll have enough to eat"
"And rest assured that when you sleep,
your dreams will all be sweet".

I was afraid I must admit,
I've lived so long in fear.
I can't remember when I let
A human come so near.
And as she tended to my wounds
And bathed and brushed my fur
She told me 'bout the rescue group
And what it meant to her.

She said, "We are a circle,
A line that never ends".
"And in the centre there is you
protected by new friends".
"And all around you are
the ones that check the pounds,
And those that share their home
after you've been found".
"And all the other folk
are searching near and far.
"To find the perfect home for you,
where you can be a star".

She said, "There is a family,
that's waiting patiently,
and pretty soon we'll find them,
just you wait and see".
"And then they'll join our circle
they'll help to make it grow,
so there'll be room for more like you,
who have no place to go".

I waited very patiently,
The days they came and went.
Today's the day I thought,
my family will be sent.
Then just when I began to think
It wasn't meant to be,
there were people standing there
just gazing down at me,
I knew them in a heart beat,
I could tell they felt it too.
They said, "We have been waiting
for a special cat like you".

Now every night I say a prayer
to all the gods that be.
"Thank you for the life I live
and all you've given me.
But most of all protect the cats
in the pound and on the street.
And send a Rescue Person
to lift them off their feet".
 
© 1996-2006 Hugs for Homeless Animals



How could you
by Jim Willis



________________________________________




“The Animals’ Saviour”
Copyright Jim Willis 1999
tiergartenjim@yahoo.com
http://www.crean.com/jimwillis



I looked at all the caged animals in the shelter...the cast-offs of human society.
I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal.
And I was angry.
"God," I said, "this is terrible! Why don't you do something?"
God was silent for a moment and then He spoke softly.
"I have done something," He replied.
"I created you.”



"Good Night, Precious"

Copyright Jim Willis 2002
A poem written especially for the "Killing With Kindness" campaign
by the author of "How Could You?" (http://www.crean.com/jimwillis/hcy.html)


Before you die, unwanted one,
I swear there was no way,
I tried — I did! — I promise...
I cried, I cursed, I prayed.

I mailed, I called, I pleaded,
for one to make room for you,
but only Heaven responded,
and there you'll find your due.

You've the most honest eyes I've seen,
a heart so loyal and true —
but our society has decided,
you've no purpose or value.

I wish that I could change things,
you've been wronged — it is not right!
But all I can offer, Precious...
a gentle passing into that good night.



I Wait
By Karen Tracer


days into nights
nights into days
patiently
I wait
for someone
anyone
to like me

an array of people
pass by
looking
petting
talking
to me
I wait

I do my antics
I strut my stuff
I sit
I stand
chest puffed out
I bark
I purr
I wait

I am homeless
no family
no master
no love
I wait
Patiently
I wait

for someone
anyone
to like me
enough
to love me
and
take me home
I dream
I wait

I am homeless
like me
love me
please
I wait



© 1996-2006 Hugs for Homeless Animals



Prayer of a Stray

Dear God please send me somebody who'll care!
I'm tried of running, I'm sick with despair.
My body is aching, it's so racked with pain,
and dear God I pray as I run in the rain.
That someone will love me and give me a home.
A warm cozy bed and a big juicy bone.

My last owner tied me all day in the yard
Sometimes with no water and God that was hard!
So I chewed my leash God and I ran away
To rummage in garbage and live as a stray.

But now God I'm tired and hungry and cold.
And I'm so afraid that I'll never grow old.
They've chased me with sticks and hit me with stones
While I run the streets just looking for bones!

I'm not really bad God, please help if you can,
For I have become just a "victim of man!
I'm wormy dear God and I'm ridden with fleas and
All that I want is an owner to please!

If you find one for me God, I'll try to be good
And I won't chew their shoes, but I'll do as I should.
I'll love them, protect them and try to obey
When they tell me to sit, to lie down or to stay!

I don't think I'll make it too long on my own,
Cause I'm getting so weak and I'm so all along.
Each night as I sleep in the bushes I cry,
Cause I'm so afraid God, that I'm gonna die!

And I've got so much love and devotion to give,
That I should be given a new chance to live.
So dear God please, please answer my prayer and
Send me someone who will really care ...
That is, dear God, if you're really there!

© 1996-2006 Hugs for Homeless Animals



Easter Bunny
by Mary Brandolino
In memory of all the bunnies we couldn't save.



I remember Easter Sunday
It was colorful and fun
The new life that I'd begun
In my new cage.

I was just a little thing
When they brought me from the store
And they put me on the floor
In my cage.

They would take me out to play
Love and pet me all the time
Then at day's end I would climb
In my cage.

But as days and weeks went by
I saw less of them it seemed
Of their loving touch I dreamed
In my cage.

In the night outside their house
I felt sad and so neglected
Often scared and unprotected
In my cage.

In the dry or rainy weather
Sometimes hotter sometimes colder
I just sat there growing older
In my cage.

The cat and dog raced by me
Playing with each other only
While I sat there feeling lonely
In my cage.

Upon the fresh green grass
Children skipped and laughed all day
I could only watch them play
From my cage.

They used to take me out
And let me scamper in the sun
I no longer get to run
In my cage.

Once a cute and cuddly bunny
Like a little ball of cotton
Now I'm grown up and forgotten
In my cage.

I don't know what went wrong
At the home I did inhabit
I just grew to be a rabbit
In my cage.

But they've brought me to the pound
I was once loved and enjoyed
Now I wait to be destroyed
In my cage.
 
© 1996-2006 Hugs for Homeless Animals



Stray Cat
by Francis Witham



Oh, what unhappy twist of fate
Has brought you, homeless, to my gate?
The gate where once another stood
To beg for shelter, warmth, and food.

For from that day I ceased to be
The master of my destiny.
While he, with purr and velvet paw
Became within my house, The Law

He scratched the furniture and shed.
And claimed the middle of my bed.
He ruled in arrogance and pride
And the heart the day he died

So if you really think, oh cat,
I'd willingly relive all that
Because you come, forlorn and thin
Well...don't just stand there...come on in!
 
© 1996-2006 Hugs for Homeless Animals



Little Cat
(The Disposable Animals)
by Kristen Sharer



Where did you come from, little cat?
How did you end up in a life like that?
Cold and alone
Nowhere to turn
Hungry and sick
Tired and worn.

Did you once have a home, little cat?
Where you curled up in a chair, lazy and fat?
Happy and snug
life was a charm
Content and well-fed.
Safe from all harm.

Did something go wrong, little cat?
That you ended up in this state that you're at?
Scared and so sore
No one to trust
Lonely and dying
In a world so unjust.

Do you still have dreams, little cat?
Can you still remember soft, gentle pats?
Comfy and soft
Nothing to fear.
Sleepy and safe,
Never a care.

Who will be there for you, little cat?
Who will hug you and hold you close, little cat?
Lonely and dying
Cold and alone.
No one to trust
You once had a home.

Where did you come from, little cat? 

© 1996-2006 Hugs for Homeless Animals



SOMEBODY'S CAT
C H Campagna

Somebody's cat went missing last night,
Somebody's cat had a terrible fright,
Somebody's cat was very brave,
So many kind people his life tried to save.

No-one's name hung from his collar last night,
Just a strip of tape for reflecting the light,
But a small strip of tape can in no way compete,
With so many cars and a busy town street.

It's such a dangerous world outside for cats,
With fast cars and dogs and with poisoned rats,
Someone, somewhere by a window will wait,
Thinks: "He'll be home soon, though it's now late."

Just a number to call could have meant, instead
Of kind strangers, she could have held his head,
I wonder if she's sorry she let her cat roam,
When he could have been so safe in her home?

The morning sun would have warmed his soft fur,
As he sat on her lap to wash and to purr.
Somebody's cat gave death quite a fight,
When somebody's cat died late last night.



Baggage
(The Meaning of Rescue)
By Evelyn Colbath(c)1995 Baggage All rights reserved



Now that I'm home, bathed, settled and fed,
All nicely tucked in my warm new bed,
I'd like to open my baggage,
Lest I forget,
There is so much to carry,
So much to regret.

Hmmm...Yes, there it is, right on the top,
Let's unpack Loneliness, Heartache and Loss,
And there by my perch hides Fear and Shame.
As I look on these things I tried so hard to leave,
I still have to unpack my baggage called Pain.
I loved them, the others, the ones who left me,
But I wasn't good enough - for they didn't want me.

Will you add to my baggage?
Will you help me unpack?
Or will you just look at my things,
And take me right back?
Do you have the time to help me unpack?
To put away my baggage, to never repack?
I pray that you do - I'm so tired you see,
But I do come with baggage,
Will you still want me?



Cat's Prayer
Author Unknown

I hope I'm not asking too much, Lord;
All I want is a home of my own,
And to know when my next meal is coming
Instead of the scraps I get thrown.

I've been out in the cold for so long now,
Just coping as best as I can;
But it's not been so long I've forgotten
The touch of a soft caring hand.

I look in house windows at Christmas,
As cats doze by the fire, quite replete;
How I'd welcome a box in the kitchen,
And tasty food for me to eat.

For me there was tinsel and gift wrap,
But the fun didn't last very long.
They put me outside with the rubbish;
I still don't know what I did wrong.

I really don't want to be greedy;
At the moment I'm all skin and bone,
So would it be too much to hope for
That someone will give me a home?



 Fosters Poem
Denise Uriarte

    There I sat, alone and afraid,
    You got a call and came right to my aid.
    You bundled me up with blankets and love,
    And, when I needed it most, you gave me a hug.

    I learned that the world was not all that scary and cold,
    That sometimes there is someone to have and to hold.
    You taught me what love is, you helped me to mend.
    You loved me and healed me and became my first friend.

    And just when I thought you'd done all you could do.
    There came along not one new lesson, but two.

    First you said, "Sweetheart, you're ready to go,
    I've done all I can, and you've learned all I know."
    Then you bundled me up with a blanket and kiss,
    Along came a new family, they even have kids!

    They took me to their home, forever to stay,
    At first I thought you had sent me away.
    Then that second lesson became perfectly clear,
    No matter how far, you will always be near.

    And so, Foster Mom, you know I've moved on,
    I have a new home, with toys and a lawn.
    But I'll never forget what I learned that first day,
    You never really give your fosters away.

    You gave me these thoughts to remember you by,
    We may never meet again, and now I know why.
    You'll remember I lived with you for a time,
    I may not be yours, but you'll always be mine.