O God! Why are there no cats in scripture?
And why no kindly dogs?
The ancient writers scorn your dogs;
they will not let them in the house.
But you have made the dog of love,
the same way you created me;
You have given her a loyal spirit:
she is truer than I have ever been.
In youth she glories in her strength
and smells with interest all that you have made.
She holds back her mouth from biting your servant;
she lies on the rug and bites a bone instead.
From room to room she follows me, securing the perimeter of her house,
and scolds away the intruder.
In age, she walks slowly, and sometimes not at all,
Only wags her tail to signal joy at our approach.
She sighs in her sleep, her old legs move together,
as if to run, a puppy still.
O! Praise God for this faithful friend,
Make us half as good as she esteems us,
And give us grace to care for her with courage
when the end of her days is upon her.
And O God! What happened to all the cats?
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2005
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