UrDogsBestFriend.ie .... Dog walking in Dublin

Some of my Poetry

Billie - If a dog could have it, she did
- Claire Hegarty Š Dec 12th 2005
If a dog could have it, she had style
And the power to make a person smile
so stately and so dignified
If a dog could have it, she had pride

If a dog could have it, she had class
If there was a test, she would pass
Such a soft and gentle, regal face
If a dog could have it, she had grace

I only knew her for a year or so
But she was so very nice to know
So beautiful and so refined
That's how I see her in my mind

When I got the call, I actually cried
The call that told me Billie died
I was sad to hear she met her end
Goodbye to a dear and much loved friend
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I wrote this after hearing of the death of my first and favourite doggy client, Billie.

Pound Dogs
- Claire Hegarty Š Nov 2005
The first face that looks back at me
is glum and gloomy as can be,
Head on blanket, eyes fixed on mine,
A little whimper, a little whine,
I walk on by, though it makes me cringe,
And as I go, I hear her whinge,
I'm so distraught, I cannot speak
And tears start rolling down my cheek

I wish everyone could go and see
What happens to dogs left to roam free,
If no kind soul takes them on,
Their lives can be as good as gone,
In the wrong hands, or even knocked down
Or maybe ending up in the pound
It's so sad to go and see
Something that need never be

If the dog is surrendered and is not a stray,
That poor little thing gets only one day
If brought in by a person, doing their best
It will get a week, maybe more, maybe less
The dog has that time in which to be found
Otherwise its days will end in the pound
It would make the hardest person cry
To see the dogs that are damned to die

These animals have a right to live
they have lots and lots of love to give
But if owners would only neuter and spay
the dogs would not end up this way
This Needless suffering has to end
We must learn to value Man's best Friend
the last things that I want to say
are PLEASE DONATE TO RESCUES TODAY
And please promote NEUTER AND SPAY!

Claire HegartyŠ Nov 2005
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Many dogs that end up in the pound are taken out by animal rescues and animal shelters with a no-kill policy. They are then kept in the shelters or fostered out until forever homes can be found for them. Please donate money, blankets, food, your time, whatever you can...
Unfortunately, not all dogs can be rescued as shelters are chock blockedmost of the time. Those that are not reclaimed or rehomed directly from the pound are then sadly put to sleep. I will post some pictures up that should make you think. Some of these dogs are already dead....

Click on the links below to see some more of my writing:

thepetsitter.co.uk

thedailymews.com/poems

Untitled - Claire Hegarty Š2005
I see the way your shoulders droop
and that in your walk there is a stoop,
the years are catching up with you
as years eventually tend to do,
Your once sure foot is now
unsteady
and for your decline,
I am not ready
but yet your mind is still
astute,
and there you still relive your youth.
Though you are ageing
gracefully,
it keeps creeping up
steathily,
to some it creeps invisibly
but it's not unnoticeable to me,
It breaks my heart and always
will,
that I can't make the time stand still,
and from this ageing make you free
and young as in past memory.....

Dad - Claire Hegarty - Š December 2001

Things seem okay, and I forget for a while,
that I won't be greeted by your hug or your smile.
And as I walk into the hallway, I am taken aback,
realising your coats are gone from the rack.
The coats used to hang there, in sets of two,
some belonging to mother, some belonging to you.
As I call out to Mam, to let her know I am here,
I fix a smile on my face and stifle back tears.

I go into the kitchen to make us some tea,
and memories in everything jump out at me.
I see your radio, your photos, your rocking chair,
wherever I look, the memories are there.
Things look just the same, all safe and all sound,
it's hard to believe you're not physically around.
But, in my minds eye, I can still see your face,
and I hope that spiritually you are still in the place.

We sit and we chat and have a drink in your name,
but we both know that things are just not the same.
Remembering the good times and even the bad,
though we know you've passed on, it's hard not to feel sad.
We know you weren't perfect and like all families do,
we had our tiffs and our differences, more than a few.
But despite all of that, the bond is still strong,
and we all loved each other, in that I'm not wrong.

Worrying about Mam and if she feels alone,
I want her to know she is not on her own.
I know that she talks to you every night
You're not out of her mind, though you are out of her sight.
You used to say if you went, that we sould soon forget,
Well, we never will and we haven't yet.
In us and the children, you will live on
and I guess in those ways, you are not fully gone.

Sometimes, doing things, that the family share,
I get a lump in my throat, I so want you there.
When I look at the young ones, I wish you could see,
how they are growing and what they turn out to be.
I miss you, I love you but memories console,
and help to diminish the ache in my soul.
I know you would visit, if you were allowed,
and I hope the family you left, made you happy and proud.

Writer's Procrastination

Why don't you submit the piece,
now that it's complete,
why are you still dawdling
and dragging your two feet?

Why can't you just send the piece,
why do you contemplate,
why be unsure and insecure,
why still procrastinate?

Why do you make excuses,
when deep inside you feel,
that however small the feeling is,
the piece has some appeal?

Why can't you just submit the piece,
are you afraid to know it's fate?
you fear success as much as failure
so you again, procrastinate!

- C Hegarty 2003

Way out

I knew somewhere buried in my despondency,
there was a way out
of that hopelessness,
that hoplessness that had the audacity
to intercept my life,
sneaking in and furtively stealing my attention,
it seemed so real,
like the huge dark bear of my childhood dreams,
hovering over my cot in the night,
threatening to consume me....

Because of it, I sent nothing,
but scornful disdain out into the world,
gave out nothing but dispirited and
wrathful vibes,
yet you remained unscathed,
unperturbed in the face of my despair,
and somehow I knew there was a way out,
and I kept trying to find it,
though it appeared futile....

Now I see double rainbows,
I see the bright colours of life,
I see bright things in myself,
that I never knew existed
I see the lightness in others, potential in all,
Life doesn't seem like a meaningless
burden anymore,
but a wonderfulgift
of good and bad experiences...

I knew somewhere buried in my despondency,
there was a way out
of that hopelessness,
that hoplessness that had the audacity
to intercept my life,
sneaking in and furtively stealing my attention,
it seemed so real,
like the huge dark bear of my childhood dreams,
hovering over my cot in the night,
threatening to consume me....
Š2003 C Hegarty

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