Keep Animals Off “The Green Mile”

I was hanging out at The Country Music Marathon last Saturday with my best friend Kev and we were really enjoying the event. We were actually not too far from Music Row, on Belmont Boulevard in Nashville, enjoying all the fans cheering on their runners, and some of the runners cheering themselves on. My fave was probably the dude dressed like Minnie Pearl. Nice hat.

Anyway I was also checking out the other dogs hanging out there. I just love dogs you know. I like to keep my chew bone away from them, sniff their butts, or just run and play. So this man walks up with his dog and asks if I'm friendly. "Maybe a little too much," Kevin said. This guy says he thinks his dog is, but that its really not his dog. He said he had rescued this dog from "The Green Mile" at the pound, and the man said he was with Bonaparte's Retreat (http://www.emmylou.net/br.html).

Now since I'm just going on 2-years-old and a dog, I didn't really understand what that meant, so I asked Kevin. He said that cute dog with the curly coat had almost been put to sleep because he didn't have an owner. Sleeping didn't sound bad to me, till he explained that meant death. My wagging tail stopped immediately. Whoa. "What is that about I asked?"

I've always had a life of luxury, plenty of food to eat, a warm place to rest, and more love than one hound could ever handle. I wasn't really aware that there's a lot of dogs and cats out there with no home, no food, and most important of all no one to love them. Whew, that'll make a hound dog cry all the time.

But then I also learned about all the organizations, like Bonaparte's Retreat, Cause For Paws, The Humane Society, www.crittercavalry.petfinder.com, and too many others to mention, that are trying to find these pets a home; and keep them off "The Green Mile". I was glad to know that so many country music stars like Emmylou Harris, Miranda Lambert, Vince Gill, Barbara Mandrell, and too many others to mention, are doing a lot of work to help these organizations that help pets survive.

So I've made up my mind to do all I can to help these dogs and cats less fortunate than me. You should too. If you are looking for a place to make a donation, the Nashville Humane Association isn't a bad place to start.

And unless you've got some really good reason, have your pet neutered or spayed, cause we got dogs and cats coming out of the woodwork and nobody to take care of them.

I'm glad I had a chance to go to the Country Music Marathon, and though it makes me sad I'm glad I found out about these helpless dogs and cats, because now I'm going to do what I can to help them out.