just a dog
by Bruce Hanna
nice dog
some kind of retriever
but darker, smaller
gray, not blushing blonde
just a dog
in church
first time I saw her
with a green vest
don’t pet me, service dog in training
oh, don’t touch
in restaurants, grocery stores
parks, movies
motels, her home
in kindergarten
don’t touch
she wiggled a little at first
was aware of people
watched knowingly
learning to work
don’t touch
Roselle in a green vest
became a fixture in church
one of the crowd
it got easier
not to touch
then she was gone
to school, to work
to learn to support her human
keep him/her safe, she learned well
just a dog
with him when it happened
led him down 78 flights of stairs
thru panicked, screaming people
to safety
just a dog in New York 9/11/01
BH 9/11/19
footnote: Roselle and her blind human were the poster couple for rescue dogs in 2002. My friends Kay and Ted loved her, prepared her. A bit of their souls helped Her down those stairs that scary, sad day.
Link to video remembrance by her human
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Wow. Thanks Bruce.
Touching words, Bruce. Thanks for sharing the whole story with us.