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“The ache for home lives in all of us,
The safe place where we can go as we are,
And not be questioned.”

Maya Angelou


This starving canine orphan was homeless
Living on the grounds of a huge cemetery
I joined two fellow pet rescuers out there
Way back in the sub-zero days of January

But the staff at this cemetery were heartless
And they quickly kicked us off of their property
After we left, so did this starving street orphan
She ended up on icy Lake Michigan, at its mercy

The city’s fire department was able to get her off of the ice
Their heroic rescue was even depicted on the evening news
But she panicked, and escaped along the lakeshore once more
The mounting number of people concerned for her, now all blue

For the next several months, we would get calls and texts about her
She would be spotted somewhere along Chicago’s massive shoreline
But by the time one of us would race out to her latest reported location
She would already be gone, and this would sadly happen, time after time

We finally got the break that we had been hoping and praying for yesterday
She was spotted lying under a bench, next to traffic-filled Lake Shore Drive
Several of us raced to this location, wondering if she had died of starvation
But we were soon filled with joy – this homeless street orphan was still alive

One of my fellow pet rescuers sat in the grass, tossing her tiny bits of delectable food
She staggered to her feet, began devouring them, and came closer and closer to her
When Katie finally managed to get a leash around her neck, we were all now ecstatic
This homeless orphan was safe at last, after over five months of our rescue effort work

And as soon as this homeless, starving, terribly afraid street orphan was finally captured
She transformed into one of the sweetest dogs that we've ever had the pleasure to meet
She is being cared for at an animal hospital, getting the medical attention that she needs
And soon, she'll get the loving home that she deserves, which brings enormous joy to me

©May 2014, Mr. Ed