The Dog Poem That Made Johnny Carson Cry

Back in 1981, legendary actor James “Jimmy” Stewart, the star of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and too many other classics to list here, went on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” to share his hobby: poetry. The piece that Stewart read was titled “I’ll Never Forget a Dog Named Beau” about his golden retriever.

At first, the poem made Johnny and the audience laugh, but it had a very different effect in the end. Describing it can’t do it justice; it’s something you have to see — and feel — for yourself, so check out the video and read the text below.

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Florida: Urge Your Representative to Oppose the Misleading ‘Pet Protection Act’

Adangerous Florida bill, misleadingly named the “Pet Protection Act” (S.B. 994 / H.B. 849), would nullify important reforms for animals.

Far from “protecting” companion animals, this bill would preempt new local retail sales bans for cats and dogs and stop local governments from enacting additional safeguards against puppy and kitten mills.

Commercial breeding mills prioritize profits over animals’ health and well-being. Pet stores are a common sales venue for puppies and kittens from these operations, and local efforts to ban such sales are an important tool in the fight to stop mill cruelty.

Please use the form below to send a message to your representative, urging them to oppose this harmful bill. Remember, personalizing your message will help it stand out.

All Dogs go to Heaven

For anyone facing their first Christmas without a special friend! This passage was written by Jerry Wayne Baldwin.

In addition to creating poems about our loveable furry friends that are enjoyed worldwide, Jerry also creates spirit filled devotional poems. A new book with devotional poems, called God’s Way in 60 Days, is in the works.

Heaven
It’s my first day in heaven,
And what a beautiful place,
You’ll be glad to know,
There’s a smile upon my face,
The moment I left you,
Two angels in white,
Carried me up here,
To heaven that night.
All those stories you hear ,
About rainbow bridge are true,
But you don’t walk over it,
The angels carried me through,
There’s a gate at the end,
Made of pearl,
It must be the biggest gate,
In the whole world!
Once I got in
I started looking around,
You just won’t believe,
All the neat things I found!
The first place they took me,
Had to be the most fun,
A humongous field,
With miles and miles to run!
Once I was tired the angels said,
We’ll take you to your new home,
But first we need to stop by this place
Full of tasty bones,
They told me to take one with me,
But one is all I need,
Because every good thing lasts forever,
Up in heaven you see,
They took me to my new house,
It took my breath away,
Most beautiful place I’ve ever seen,
With a huge yard to play,
They said come on lets go inside ,
And have a look around,
They took me to the bottom floor,
You won’t believe what I found,
The floor of my house is a window
And you won’t believe the view,
See my house it sets right over yours,
So I can still keep an eye on you!
I was so worried about you,
When I went away,
Now I can watch you every second,
And know that you are okay!
So the next time you are missing me,
This is what you do,
Step outside and look straight up,
Because I still have my eye on YOU!

Ocoee allows Chews A Puppy to bypass county pet sale ban

The city of Ocoee’s reworked pet-sale ordinance was widely panned Tuesday night by more than two dozen animal welfare advocates who tried but failed to persuade city commissioners to stick with a county ordinance that will outlaw the retail sale of puppies, kittens and bunnies beginning next summer.

The hotly debated Ocoee ordinance passed 3-2 with Mayor Rusty Johnson leading the way to benefit a city pet shop.

The new rule allows one store — Chews A Puppy on West Colonial — to keep selling puppies and kittens after the county ban kicks in June 22.

Unless the county rule is overturned in court, Chews A Puppy would be the only pet shop lawfully permitted to sell puppies not only in Ocoee but also in Orange County and throughout most of Central Florida as Lake, Osceola and Seminole counties have adopted similar bans on retail pet sales.

Frustrated animal-welfare advocates, who lobbied for Orange County’s ban, vowed to keep fighting.

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Ocoee delays decision on retail pet-sales ban during 3 hour meeting

After three hours of debate, Ocoee opted Tuesday night to delay a decision on an ordinance regulating retail pet sales.

City commissioners were poised to override an Orange County rule forbidding pet stores throughout the county from selling puppies, kittens and bunnies — and essentially grant a monopoly without any local oversight to Chews A Puppy, the only pet shop in the city that sells puppies.

But the board fretted about how to police the family-owned store, which has been tagged with an F-rating by the Better Business Bureau.

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