Animal Blessings: Prayers and Poems Celebrating Our Pets Book

	A Letter to Readers	xv
	Thanks	xix
1	Dogs	1
	What I Learned from My Dog	3
	I Would Be	5
	Welcome Home, New Puppy	6
	Making a House a Home	7
	Faithful Companion	8
	Just My Dog	10
	We Really Never Own a Dog	12
	Loyal Friend	13
	A Perfect Gentleman	14
	Old Friends	15
	Old Black Lab in the First Snow	16
	Scratch a Dog	17
	Devotion	18
	Comfort	19
	A Dog's Prayer	20
	Folks Will Know	22
	A Dog's Acceptance	23
	If You Can	24
2	Cats	27
	Cats Make Us Feel Good	29
	Magician	30
	Peace Keeper	31
	Time Spent Watching a Cat	32
	The Difference Between Dogs and Cats	33
	Basic Rules for Cats Who Have a House to Run	34
	The Cat	37
	Psalm for a Cat Owner	38
	Companion	39
	The King of Cats Sends a Postcard to His Wife	40
	On a Cat, Aging	41
	Room for One More	42
	Cat from the Animal Shelter	43
	Cat-Haiku-Esque-Poem	44
	I Will Always Remember	45
	Passerby	46
	A Question	48
	Stray Cat	49
	Cats as Teachers	50
3	Other Animals	51
	A Fieldmouse's Prayer	53
	All God's Creatures	55
	Three Little Fish	57
	Grace	58
	A Pony's Prayer	60
	Last Chance	61
	The First of May	66
	Midwife to Miracles	67
	On Guardian Angels	68
	In the Presence of Angels	69
	Home Delivery	70
	Bird Mother	71
	Birds Make Great Sky-Circles	72
	The Communion of Saints	73
	Deer Domain	74
	In Deer Country	76
	The Grasshopper and the Cricket	77
	Atlantic Dolphins	78
	In a Moonlit Night	80
	Again, Frogs	81
	Bee! I'm Expecting You!	82
	The Good Life	83
4	Partings	85
	Time to Say Good-bye	87
	Mourning the Death of a Pet	88
	Long Lost ... Long Remembered	89
	Prayer for a Pet's Memorial Service	90
	Prayer for the Burial of a Bird	91
	Funeral Prayer	92
	Farewell, Old Friend	94
	An Epitaph	95
	Passing On	96
	At the Grave of a Fine Cat	97
	A Memorial for a Pet	98
	In the Loss of Your Pet	99
	A Dog Lover's Prayer	100
	Dogs in Heaven?	102
	Friends in the Great Beyond	103
	The Love They Give Us	104
	Northwest Indian Memorial on Death	105
5	Reflections	107
	If Having a Soul	109
	Do Animals Have Souls?	110
	They Shall Teach Thee	112
	Ethical Conduct	113
	Love Animals	114
	Hurt No Living Thing	115
	Moral Progress	116
	Living Holy	117
	A True Perspective	118
	Animals Are Such Agreeable Friends	119
	I Think I Could Turn and Live with the Animals	120
	To Portland Cement from Robert Frost	121
	Contemplation	122
	Child's Lesson	123
	Dream Time	124
	All Things Are Connected	126
	The Animals Never Yell at Me	127
	An Animal's Eyes	128
	The Peace of Wild Things	129
	If I Knew the Ways of Animals	130
	God's Special Providence	132
	God in All Things	133
	Talk to the Animals	134
	In Their Innocence and Wisdom	135
	Prayer for an Ill Pet	136
	To Be of Service	137
	Why Do I Care So Much?	138
	Compassion	140
	Until One Has Loved an Animal	141
	We All Belong to the Same Family	142
	Respect for Life	143
	All Things Bright and Beautiful	144
6	Inspiration	145
	A Prayer for the Feast of St. Francis	147
	Animal Blessing for the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi	148
	A Prayer for a Pet Blessing	150
	A Prayer for Animals	151
	I Sing for the Animals	152
	A Prayer for Protecting Animals	153
	Blessings	154
	Buddhist Prayer	155
	A Blessing for a Child's New Pet	156
	In Appreciation of the Family Pet	157
	Rainforest Life	158
	Blessings in All Directions	159
	Hear Our Humble Prayer	161
	Author Index	163
	Permissions and Acknowledgments	165
	Photo Credits	168