poem about growing old and dogs

banjocurl

i saw this in my vets office and thought i would share it with y'all--of course we're all far too young for this but i could see this as a possibility for me --note there is nothing here about facelift or botox
Grow Old With Dogs
When I am old...
I will wear soft grey sweatshirts,
and a bandana over my silver hair,
and I will spend my social security cheques on wine and my dogs.

I will sit in my house on my well-worn chair
and listen to my dogs' breathing.
I will sneak out in the middle of a warm summer night
and take my dogs for a run, if my old bones will allow...

When people come to call, I will smile
and nod as I show them my dogs,
and talk of them and about them...
...the ones so beloved of the past
and the ones so beloved of today.

I will still work hard cleaning after them,
mopping and feeding them and
whispering their names in a soft loving way.

I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat,
like a jewel, and I will be an embarrassment to all,
especially my family...
who have not yet found the peace in being free
to have dogs as your best friends.

These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your footfall,
and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep,
to greet you as if you are a god,
With warm eyes full of adoring love and hope
that you will always stay.

I'll hug their big strong necks,
I'll kiss their dear sweet heads,
and whisper in their very special company.

I look in the mirror...and see I am getting old.
this is the kind of person I am, and have always been.
Loving dogs is easy, they are part of me.

Please accept me for who I am.
My dogs appreciate my presence in their lives,
they love my presence in their lives.
When I am old this will be important to me.
You will understand when you are old....
if you have dogs to love too.

- Anonymous

2poodles

Awww.... that's sweet.

wild~hair

Aw, love it.

Sent it to my two dog-loving-est friends.

jeepcurlygurl

I passed it on too. Lovely. Thanks banjo!

CurliLocks

I'll have to pass this on as well. Love it! I'm not that old yet, but I totally understand it, and already do some of it!

My dogs have always been my best friends.

starina

Banjocurl, I just loved this! I'm going to give it to my sister who is unapologetic about her love for her dog Susie. Thanks so much for posting it.

Suburbanbushbabe

Very sweet, very moving. I'm sending it to my sister who loves dogs and animals better than people (except her husband)

PrettyPorcupine

It's an obvious takeoff of the Jenny Joseph poem, "When I am an old lady, I shall wear purple, and a red hat that doesn't go..." and which incidentally inspired the Red Hat Society.

I do like the dog poem and intend to send it to a dog-loving friend, but I think it's a shame the author of it did not credit the original author who he/she clearly ripped off. As a writer, and as someone who admires the Joseph poem, that really rankles me.

Here's the first stanza of the Joseph poem:

When I am an old lady I shall wear purple/With a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me./ And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves/ and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter./ I shall sit on the pavement when I am tired / and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells/ and run my stick along the public railings/ and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

Pretty close "homage," no?