Do not break my spirit with a stick,
for I will lick your hand between blows. Your patience and understanding will quickly teach me the things you would have me learn.

Speak to me often,
for your voice is the world's sweetest music,
as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail
when your footstep falls upon my waiting ear.
Please take me inside when it is cold and wet,
for I am a domesticated animal,
no longer accustomed to the bitter elements.
I ask no great glory than the privilege
of sitting at your feet beside the hearth.

Keep my pan filled with fresh water,
for I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.
Feed me clean food so that I may stay well,
to romp and play and do your bidding,
to walk by your side, and stand ready,
willing and able to protect you with my life,
should your life be in danger.
And, my friend, when I am very old,
please see that my trusting life is taken gently.
Then I shall leave this earth knowing, with the last breath
I draw, that my fate was always safest in your hands.

-words of a dog...