Mr. Twig Takes His Vows
Dear Barbara, RJ, Zach, Maddie and Phoebe,
Pending something called a home visit, which i think must be something like
proving you are housebroken, or at least a lot of fun for dogs, i would like
to say "i do." I promise to love, honor, protect and frequently obey you for
the rest of my life.
I will make you the center of my world; i will trust you with my emotional
and physical well-being, with my medical care, with providing me with the
food i eat and the water i drink, with the exercise of my body and the
stimulation of my mind. Into your hands i commend, with trust, my life: you
and you alone will decide if i am exercised and strong or flabby and weak;
if i am comfortable or in pain; if my life is interesting with every day a
little different, as it was for my ancestors in the wild, or a dull monotony
as it is for many too many modern dogs. I will give you all of me: i know
no other way. And in the end, i give to you the very power to decide when i
draw my last breath on this earth. But when that day comes, i'll go ahead
and find Ellie and Shadow and the others, and just like always, we'll wait
only for the cadence of your footfalls, the sound of your voices.
i will protect you with my life, love you better than even my own species
(sorry Phoebe), care more about you than i do myself, entertain you
endlessly, and in my overly-enthusiastic demonstations of love and happiness
and devotion i will probably get muddy paws on you, knock a few things over
and do other things i shouldn't do, all of which i apologize for in advance.
The world of comfort, health and kindness is new to me, and i'm just now
learning the ropes. I've tasted little of love in return, but oh! how i
crave it! I will be grateful for every scratch, smile, hug, game of tug or
fetch, every kind word, every time you tell me your dreams and
disappointments.
I hope you will share with me the things i've always dreamed of: belonging
to someone at a dog park, instead of watching, alone, from outside the fence;
being at your side while you do the silliest chores or take the shortest
walks; helping you dig the garden; family trips; guarding the car for you
while you run into the hardware store, and decorating those dreary car
windows with nose art while i wait. I hope there will always be a soft bed
for me to sleep on under your desk, so you're never alone when you're
working. I want to make you proud of me and i want to do your bidding: i
will do whatever you ask me to, if i can understand it. I learn in ways that
are different from yours, and i don't speak your language, but if you go
slowly with me, and i can make out what it is you're trying to say, i would
lay down my life if you asked.
i've trusted humans before and it hasn't turned out too well for me. Why, i
don't know. i did my best. i tried my hardest. i offered my heart. all
i've ever wanted was a family of my own -- to love and protect with every
fiber of my being. (my agent suggests that here i insert my plea for future
negotiations to always get to sleep in one of my hooman's rooms once i am a
completely dependable boy. i think Maddie would be much safer with me there:
it would be easier to do my job.) To think that such happiness is within
my reach is almost more than i can bear. My agent is crying, and it will
hurt me to leave them too, but the dream of sharing four hoomans with just
one other dog, and two of those hoomans being KIDS! is just more than i could
have asked or imagined.
And so, pending that home visit thingy, i pledge thee my troth.
Your boy Twig
