"Who kicks a dog kicks his own soul towards hell." - Will JudyHow The Bulldog Got Its FaceWhen the Good Lord gave out faces to the dogs long ago, He found, when he had issued them there was still one dog to go - "Where's this dog's face?" He called aloud, "I know I must have made it. There must be someone hereabouts who's clumsily mislaid it." A shy young angel then stepped up, "Forgive me, Lord," he said. He stuttered and he stammered and he turned a little red- "I never thought it was a face - it fell out of your bag. So I thought you had discarded it as just a piece of rag.- "So I promptly went and used it for so very many things, Like polishing up the halos and waxing up the wings. "It's creased and crumpled as you see - in truth it's a disgrace.. I don't know how. my dearest Lord, you can use it for a face. "I realise it's all my fault, and there's no one else to blame. I trust you can forgive me Lord, My heart's so full of shame." "Of course I have forgiven you, but here we've got a mess, So I'll make amends to this poor dog and him I'll truly bless. "He'll be called an 'English Bulldog' that's about the only place Where the people are so silly as to love an ugly face. But he'll be kind and gentle and of courage he'll be full - As well as love and loyalty - the ugly, lovely Bull." And that is how, my children, in that long-gone year of grace The dear old English Bulldog got his lovely, ugly face. . .By A.N.K. Hobbs"Dog's lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the pain is coming, you're going to lose a dog, and there's going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can't support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There's such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware it comes with an unbearable price. Maybe loving dogs is a way we do penance for all the other illusions we allow ourselves and for the mistakes we make because of those illusions." --DeanKoontz