The Pinkerton Puppies

by Marguerite Pinkerton
(Green Valley, Arizona)

I came home on Chritmas Eve one year with a little four pound bundle of joy. He was the largest of a litter of six Shih Tzu puppies. We named him Char-Lee. I felt terrible about leaving the last puppy behind. He was the runt of the litter and now all by himself. Why do I tell about the little runt. Because it became a miracle for my family in the years to come.

Six years later our groomer called to tell us about a sad situation. Two Shih Tzus needed new homes. The children at their house were abusive to them. We took the little male home with us on Christmas Day. Three weeks later the little female was not eating and very sad. We went to get her that very day and so there were three. To make the long story short, we were sent their papers. You can imagine our suprise and delight when we saw that our new boy was the little runt we had left behind six years before.

We lost all three at 15 years of age (in less than a year). Char-lee, Little Bit and Irish were the joys of our lives. To lose them was one of the hardest things I have ever gone through. I wrote the following poem to help me process my grief.

Somewhere over the rainbow, little puppies play
Somewhere over the rainbow, pain is swept away
Somewhere over the rainbow, life is filled with joys
Where there is no sorrow for my little girl and boys

No illness nor infirmities will now get in their way
Grandma smiles sweetly as she watches them at play
Sometimes when I listen I can hear their happy bark
I close my eyes and think of them; they live in heaven's park

Somewhere over the rainbow, life is full of peace
Somewhere over the rainbow, love will never cease
Somewhere over the rainbow, they're as happy as can be
I'll join them there in heaven, when my Father calls for me.