Human Kindness and Dignity. Play it forward.

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ''I know why.''

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?'' The six-year-old continued,

''Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''

Paradise waits, on the crest of a wave, her angels in flames.
She has no pain, like a child she is pure, she is not to blame.
Poised for flight, wings spread bright, spring from night into the sun.
Dont stop to run, she can fly like a lie, she cant be outdone.

Tell me the cost; I can pay, let me go, tell me love is not lost.
Sell everything; without love day to day insanitys king.
I will pay day by day, anyway, lock, bolt and key.
Crippled but free, I was blind all the time I was learning to see.

Help on the way, well, I know only this, Ive got you today.
Dont fly away, cause I love what I love and I want it that way.
I will stay one more day, like I say, honey its you.
Making it too, without love in a dream it will never come true.

People are giving and helping on the other side of the dam too, there's still a dugnad spirit, but they seldom tell anybody outside their own family about their kindness and dignity. Telling other people how kind and dignified you are, is seen as bragging, or as putting nice feathers in the hat to look a little better or in some cases - putting lipstick on the bulldog.