Wag Your Tail: Dog Stories and Poems to Touch Your Heart

By poetsenvy

Dogs change our worlds by giving unconditional love and sharing our lives. In these stories dogs have identi ties and personalities. They are more than companions and friends. They are actors playing center stage, entering our minds and hearts and becoming unforgettable.

Each dog owner discovers that a dog becomes part of the family history, part of the stories told around the table, and sometimes the only thing that touches our emotions. During a dogs lifeti me a dog finds ways to entertain, dismay, or love the humans around them. A dog cant be ignored.

Perhaps dogs are highly regarded because they dont have hidden motives. They love you or dislike you. Life is that simple. Once their decision is made they dont forget their friends or enemies.

In my opinion most dogs are angels sent to bring unconditi onal love into the world and to battle the dark forces. As you read these stories decide for yourself if dogs change our lives for the better. You may have known dogs like Belle that can do so many things. Read and enjoy and let the dogs entertain you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781475988147

poetsenvy

Dan Roberson. a freelance writer, has a bachelor’s degree from Sacramento State University. He has previously published one book, Devils or Angels. He is single,has three grown children and lives in Porterville, CA. For hobbies he gardens, keeps bees, bakes pies, plays chess, and trains dogs.

Book preview

Wag Your Tail

Dog Stories and Poems to Touch Your Heart

Copyright © 2013 by poetsenvy.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4759-8813-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-8814-7 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013907656

iUniverse rev. date: 04/24/2013

Contents

Belle Has to Lead!

Belle Goes Skydiving

Belle Goes to School and Becomes a Therapy Dog

Belle Uses the Heimlich Maneuver

Belle Rides Shotgun! (AMBER Alert)

Your Pets Know

Something’s Out There!

Chasing Rabbits

Braving the Storm

Loud Noises and the Storm

Throwing Caution to the Wind!

My Pick

A Pet Store Special Deal

Santa’s Surprise

The Old Elephant and Sirius

Moses and George

Two Friends

Point of View

Run Where the Flowers Grow

The Stray

The Princess and the Wannabe(Or the Lhasa Apso and the Chihuahua)

Bonnie and Clyde

Tripod, the Miracle Dog

Scooter

Sammy, the Self-Appointed Neighborhood Watchdog

Beowulf

Best Friends

Watchdogs!

Poor Charlee

Dedication

From the moment we enter this world we are searching for love and companionship. I was fortunate to be born into a family in which love was abundant, and I was allowed to explore the world on my own terms. My parents loved and educated me; my brothers and sisters taught me the world was friendly and exciting; and dogs, my furry friends, helped keep me safe and content.

This book contains stories and poems about dogs. From my early childhood until the present time, dogs have impacted and changed how I’ve related to my human friends. From dogs I’ve learned that loyalty, unconditional love, vulnerability, discipline, consistency, and teamwork are all important. Learning their rules eased my way into the world of humans.

Perhaps dogs understand much more than we give them credit for. Right away they decide whether a newcomer is a friend or a foe to be reckoned with. A friend is a friend for life. A friend’s scent is never forgotten even though eyesight or hearing fails. A foe is equally remembered until proven otherwise.

In this collection of short stories and poems dogs live and die, interact with the world, and become members of my family and yours. If these stories touch your heart or remind you of your childhood, then I have succeeded. If you are entertained and distracted from the world’s problems, then share the stories with others. Dogs and their stories are one way of bringing love and companionship into the world.

I have learned approaches to life from dogs. If I want to get along with others in the world, I don’t have to wag my tail, but it does help to smile.

The first five stories in this collection of dog stories are about Belle, a Lhasa Apso. Lhasa Apsos, one of the oldest dog breeds in the world, are highly respected for their keen sense of hearing. Belle’s ancestors were originally used to alert Buddhist monks to intruders who entered the monasteries.

In this story Belle was caught off guard and did not warn her owner about a burglar. However, she saved the day by finding a way to overcome her mistake.

Belle Has to Lead!

The big dogs could have eaten Belle in one mighty gulp.

She was fearless, so she let them rough her up.

Often she romped happily with her canine friends.

When life is good like that, the fun never ends.

To other dogs, her personality was like a soothing balm.

This Tibetan bearded lion dog always remained calm.

Playing with others became part of her daily game.

But Belle would stop her play when she heard me call her name.

Her best friend, though, was Fluffy the Cat.

She would chase him, and they would wrestle on the mat.

They played day and night until they finally went to sleep.

Exhausted, they would snuggle together in a little heap.

One evening before dinner I was watching a show.

An intruder entered; it was someone I didn’t know.

He carried a gun, and I had no time to react.

As he tied me up, Belle hid,