(Untitled Tribute to a Puppy)

     
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I'm a little puppy, so cuddly, sweet and small
I live inside a cage, you see at Pet Store in the mall.
I'm not an only puppy, my sisters are all here.
My brothers, too, except for Ralph who died coz he was scared.

It's lonely here at nighttime when all the lights go dark,
We tremble in our cages and we whimper and we bark.
But no one comes to hold us or pet our fears away
We sit all night in terror till the store opens next day.

We don't remember mama, left so far behind
she did the best she could for us till Man said "It is time."
He crammed us all in cages too small for us you see
We rode for hours; we could not help but lay in poop and pee

And now we sit in Pet Store where kids come taunt and squeeze
They do not hear our whimpers or understand our pleas
We're miserable and it's scary here we all would rather die
But since we don't we do our best to run away and hide

I know you think my story too sad to leave me be
You want to take me home with you, a happy little puppy.
But please, though it is fearful to live here against our will
If you take me that leaves a spot another pup will fill.

You can stop our suffering but not by taking us home
You must be strong and leave us here, unsold and all alone
For if you do not take me, then another pup won't come
And maybe he will not be shipped so far away from home

Though some of us may not survive the cycle 'ere it falls
If we don't sell they will not need more puppies in these halls
And if they need no puppies then the Man will not bring more
Eventually it can all stop! You CAN close the door.

So when you see a puppy face so sad and sweet and small
In a cage at Pet Store at your neighborhood shopping mall
The best thing you can do for him is leave him sitting there
That is the best way you can tell all dogs how much you care.

Amy Butcher