As a pup I dreamed and wondered
What life would hold in store
For ME, I thought, there's something GREAT
Beyond that kennel door.
Out there are needy people
And I have much to give
Love, and wit, and gentleness
To help them learn to live.
I'd be someone's protector,
Keep little ones from harm,
Or guide an old man's steps,
Or help to run a farm.
I'd run and bark and jump and play
With friends along a sandy shore
I'd roll in meadows, thick and green
That lie beyond that kennel door.
I lay here waiting, longing,
As the days and years went by,
My owner kept me fed and brushed,
But inside let me die.
I do not think of greatness now,
I'm old and filled with pain.
My owner has some ribbons,
But I have lived in vain.
I cannot think what could have been,
My dreams are filled with hope no more.
Just floors and walls and a broken heart
For me behind this kennel door.

I'll never bring about world peace. I won't single handedly save the rain forest. I'm not a brain surgeon and I'll never transplant an organ to save a life. I don't have the ear of a powerful politician or world power. I can't end world hunger. I'm not a celebrity, and God knows I'm not glamorous! I'm not looked up to by millions around the world. Very few people even recognize my name. I'll never win the Nobel prize. I"ll never save the rain forest or end global warming. There are a lot of things that I'll never do or become.
But today I placed a dog!

It was a small, scared, bundle of flesh and bones that was dropped off in a shelter by unfeeling people that didn't care what happened to it, but yet who were responsible for it even having existence in the first place.
I found it a home.

It now has contentment and an abundance of love. A warm place to sleep and plenty to eat. Two little boys have a warm fuzzy new friend who will give them unquestioning devotion and teach them about responsibility and love.
A wife and mother has a new spirit to nurture and care for.

A husband and a father has a companion to sit at his feet at the end of a hard day of work and help him relax and enjoy life. And a sense of security, that when he is gone all day at work, that there is a protector and a guardian in his home to keep watch over his family.
No, I'm not a rocket scientist. But today, I made a difference!