{"id":104,"date":"2008-03-23T21:45:13","date_gmt":"2008-03-23T21:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sithean.com\/dawgdogs\/?p=104"},"modified":"2008-03-23T21:45:13","modified_gmt":"2008-03-23T21:45:13","slug":"forgotten-dogs-christmas-poem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sithean.com\/dawgdogs\/forgotten-dogs-christmas-poem\/","title":{"rendered":"Forgotten Dog&#039;s Christmas poem"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&#8216;Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">The stockings were hung by the chimney with care<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">The children were nestled all snug in their beds<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">With no thought of the dog filling their head<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">And mamma in her &#8216;kerchief, and I in my cap<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">Knew he was cold, but didn&#8217;t care about that<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">Away to the window I flew like a flash<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">Figuring the dog was free of his chain and into the trash<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">When, what to my wondering eyes should appear<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">But Santa Claus &#8211; with eyes full of tears<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">He un-chained the dog, once so lively and quick<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">Last year&#8217;s Christmas present, now painfully thin and sick<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">More rapid than eagles he called the dog&#8217;s name<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">And the dog ran to him, despite all his pain<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&#8220;Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONNER and BLITZEN!<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">Let&#8217;s find this dog a home where he&#8217;ll be loved by all.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">I knew in an instant there would be no gifts this year<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">For Santa Claus had made one thing quite clear<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">The gift of a dog is not just for the season<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">We had gotten the pup for all the wrong reasons<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">In our haste to think of the<br \/>\nkids a gift<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">There was one important thing that we missed<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">A dog should be family, and cared for the same<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">You don&#8217;t give a gift, then put it on a chain<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">And I heard him exclaim as he rode out of sight<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&#8220;You weren&#8217;t given a<br \/>\ngift! You were given a LIFE!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">Author Unknown<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &#8216;Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house &nbsp; Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse &nbsp; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care &nbsp; In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there &nbsp; The children were nestled all snug in their beds &nbsp; With no thought &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/sithean.com\/dawgdogs\/forgotten-dogs-christmas-poem\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Forgotten Dog&#039;s Christmas poem&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories-poems"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sithean.com\/dawgdogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sithean.com\/dawgdogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sithean.com\/dawgdogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sithean.com\/dawgdogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sithean.com\/dawgdogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/sithean.com\/dawgdogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sithean.com\/dawgdogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sithean.com\/dawgdogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sithean.com\/dawgdogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}