Paw Prints On My Heart

By Gudrun Jones
Co-Founder & Former President of the Lakeside Spay & Neuter Center
(Re-published by Request)

Some years ago I meet Bob Hocking. I knew him as the sophisticated, dapper dresser, always the correct gentleman, an animal lover and a supporter of the Lakeside Spay & Neuter Center. I thought I knew him and I loved him. However, at his memorial service I learned about the real Bob, the entertainer, the man with a great sense of humor, the practical joker and the philanthropist. I wish I had known the real Bob.

Some time ago I wrote a poem and it has been featured in this publication, but when I recited it for Bob many people came to me and asked for a copy. So here it is:

Remember Me

Think of me with a smile,

Now that I’ve left this world behind.

There is no need to weep

For finally I’m free.

I’m somewhere beyond the sea,

Where no sorrow touches me.

Dry your tears and look for me

In all that once was dear to me.

Find me in the blue of the sky,

Feel me in the cool and gentle breeze at night.

Hear me in the music that fills your soul,

See me in the flowers that once I adored.

Watch the eagle in flight...

It might be me as I leave the earthly bounds behind.

I may be the wind that caresses your face,

Or the sunbeam, which draws a pattern of lace.

I am the laughter and the good old time,

The smile of a stranger as he passes by.

I am the star that watches over you,

The rose that is touched by the morning dew.

I am all the things you let me be

And I will live, as long as you remember me.

If you are looking for a companion and don’t really want a two-legged one, then come to the Ranch and check out a four-legged one. If you have been there before and did not find what you are looking for, come again. There are always new dogs there, along with the old-time residents. Be adventurous: add a dog to your life.