By Gordon Bakalar
TOUGH LOVE / Chained

I am a dog with a story to tell
A dog on a chain, my life a living hell.

I was unlucky enough to be born in a "mill"
Though they passed new laws, it's probably there still.

I was born in a small wire pen
Along with my brothers, six of us kin.

We were not kept together for very long
Before taken to auction and sold for a song.

Sold to a pet store, my home a glass cage
I was one of those designer dogs, "all of the rage."

So again I was sold in about a week
Little did I know it was "up the creek."

I was bought for a Christmas present for the kids
But that didn't last long before I hit the skids.

At first it was a happy and playful time
I lived in a big house, everything was fine.

Played with two children, my master and his wife
This was the greatest, this was the life.

But then all of a sudden things got real hard
I was thrown outside to live in the yard.

Maybe it's because I do shed a little
Or once on the rug I did a little piddle.

No explanation and no reason why
All night alone I would whimper and cry.

When the sun came up I barked all day
But no one, not even the kids, came out to play.

I've grown a little older now living on a chain
They say I'm too big for the house, too much trouble to train.

This is my story, and my lament
I'm nothing more than a lawn ornament.

I've been waiting for my master for close to 15 years
Tied in the back yard, choking back my tears.

I hope you think of me when you see a dog on a chain
And know that dog is lonely, hurting, and in pain.

Maybe you'll even stop a while and pat him on his head
Or just sit beside him and talk to him instead.

If you stay long enough to say a friendly word
It's sure to be a kindness that for years he's never heard.

\When you see a chained dog and know of his plight
You'll know in your heart and mind, it just ain't right.