A Follow-Up To My Last Poem ‘5, 500 A Day’
“Thank you for your donation, and for being a voice for the animals and our cause.
I have attached the painting that your name is now beside on the Act of Dog website.
Spot is on page 6, 8 rows down on the right. Spot will be watching over you with grace.”
Mark Barone
I never got the chance to meet Spot
I don’t even know what town he lived in
He's one of the 5,500 dogs a day, we kill
Our betrayal of man’s best friend, is a sin
I believe that Spot deserved better from us
Than being dumped at an overflowing pound
As do each and every one of the other canines
Which are being killed, in every American town
After giving all of his love and his loyalty to his family
They eventually decided to abandon him at a ‘kill facility’
As many other pet discarders today now seem to be doing
They said: ‘We just cannot afford to keep him, in this economy’
Like all other discarded pets, Spot did not know what any of this meant
In his canine heart and soul, he couldn’t comprehend their abandonment
And, of course, no one else stepped forward to provide him a new home
So, with 5,500 other left behinds one day, to the gas chamber he was sent
I have now printed out Spot’s portrait, and placed it in the window of my truck
His forlorn eyes and visage, will now accompany me on all of my dog rescues
When my telephone rings and I’m on my way to help another left behind canine
Spot’s spirit and portrait, will remind me of why we pet rescuers do what we do
If you or someone you know must relinquish a loyal pet, for whatever reason
Don’t just dump them at a ‘kill facility,’ or throw them out, like yesterday’s trash
Man’s Best Friend deserves far better than we humans are giving him these days
And I pray that the 5,500 dogs a day we kill like Spot, can become part of our past
I never got the chance to meet Spot,
I don’t even know what town he lived in;
He's one of the 5,500 dogs a day, we kill,
Our betrayal of man’s best friend, is a sin.
©April 2012, Mr. Ed
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