This is a bittersweet time of year, tempered with the memories of the dogs that gave me such great joy.

Will & Kate 1993



I'm thankful for my "imaginary internet friends" that share a passion for dogs and vintage doubles, and an appreciation for what they represent.
Tell a family member or friend that you are thankful for them, while you still can. And give your dog some extra rubs

Rudyard Kipling's "The Power of the Dog"
There is sorrow enough in the natural way From men and women to fill our day; But when we are certain of sorrow in store, Why do we always arrange for more? Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.
Buy a pup and your money will buy Love unflinching that cannot lie-- Perfect passion and worship fed By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head. Nevertheless it is hardly fair To risk your heart for a dog to tear.
When the fourteen years which Nature permits Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits, And the vet's unspoken prescription runs To lethal chambers or loaded guns, Then you will find--it's your own affair But . . . you've given your heart to a dog to tear.
When the body that lived at your single will When the whimper of welcome is stilled (how still!) When the spirit that answered your every mood Is gone wherever it goes--for good, You will discover how much you care, And will give your heart to a dog to tear!
We've sorrow enough in the natural way, When it comes to burying Christian clay. Our loves are not given, but only lent, At compound interest of cent per cent. Though it is not always the case, I believe, That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve: For, when debts are payable, right or wrong, A short-time loan is as bad as a long So why in Heaven (before we are there!) Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

More dog quotations
http://www.picturetrail.com/members/community/homePage/blogPage.php?uid=6511424&entryID=26234
http://www.picturetrail.com/members/community/homePage/blogPage.php?uid=6511424&entryID=26233

"Man's Best Friend" by J. F. Kernan



And since this terrible year is coming to an end (but 2021 may be even worse) and the season of "Peace, Good Will Toward Men" approacheth, maybe we can all exercise some self-restraint and stop baiting each other until after Christmas?

Amen!

Alan Jackson has a song, “The Older I Get”, that ends with these lines:

And the older I get
The more thankful I feel
For the life I’ve had
And all the life I’m living still.

Amen. A joyous thanksgiving to you all.

Back at you, Reverend. Hope you see to the dog getting a bit of turkey.

Mine will.

Best,
Ted

the image, "mans best friend", reminds me of me and my best friend,"princie", 30 years ago...

let us all find peace and extend good will to others...

and, then, let us all, "do no harm...and do good"...

How about making a sweep of wishes- after: (1) Christmas, (2) Hannukah-aka Channuka-- (3) Kwanza, and (4) Festivus-- cover all bases, even for Non-Christians. RWTF

Happy Thanksgiving Doc Drew, and to all.

I hope everyone can find something to be thankful for.
I am very thankful, and grateful that I am able to do more good in the world by purposeful choice.

It’s become sort of a hobby you might say.

Sharing my life’s blessings with others helps me more than I ever expected.

clapper,+1...

Drew, I had those same thoughts today, about dogs of my past that have left me far to soon,while dove hunting for the first time this year.

First time I have been without a dog on a dove field in a long time.

My wife did have her Golden today and she shot better than ever. Mosby got to retrieve many birds and it reminded me to be thankful for a wife that enjoys dogs and hunting as much as I do.

Smoking two turkeys in the morning. One for a family gathering at my sisters and another for a less fortunate family just up the road.

Hope everyone has a blessed thanksgiving.

AMEN 2
Thank-you RevDoc Drew for that perfect sentiment.
Especially like your vehicle license plate - calling it like it is.
And for our non-English speaking friends on this BBS, especially mon ami/mi amigo JCJ in the southern cone:
Vehicle license plate 4RBRDOG in plain English translates to and implies: For our bird dog(s).

Thanks, Drew. Last evening I ran across a picture of the last limit of doves my faithful Lab, Fowler, retrieved for me. It was bittersweet, because Fowler was killed by a truck only a few months later. The look of the doves, mouthed gently as he carried them, was what caused me to remember that it was he that had retrieved them, and not birds I had picked up myself.

Soon I hope to be following pointers for quail, and spaniels for woodcock, watching Labs bring in ducks, and enjoying the time and training put into them by my friends. 'Bout time for me to stop grieving Fowler, and get on with finding another puppy, I'm thinking.

SRH

Stan-have you ever read Kipling's poem-- "The Power If The Dog"- also Ben Hur Lampman's words- "Where To Bury A Dog" Happy Thanksgiving to you, Jean and the family down there in Deep Dixie--RWTF

I'm thankful that for the last four years, we finally had a President named Donald Trump who really cared about the good and welfare of this Nation.

We have been blessed to have a man in the White House who defended the principles upon which this Nation was founded. And best of all for those of us who understand the meaning of the 2nd Amendment, we have been blessed to have a strong defender of the Rights of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms. Thanks to Donald Trump, we are blessed to have three new Supreme Court Justices who will defend the Constitution instead of attempt to rewrite it. Without men like Donald Trump, it wouldn't be very long before we fell under the same onerous restrictions, bans, and eventual loss of freedoms that has cursed gun owners and shooters in many other oppressive Socialist rat-holes.

Let us pray that corruption and fraud does not bring an end to these blessings. Let us pray that good triumphs over evil, and we are not cast into the darkness of Socialism and repression.

Happy Thanksgiving Drew.

I'm thankful that the true Americans came out in force by 6 million plus and 4% points to put an end to your hopes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful that I am still as enthusiastic about going hunting and fishing as I was as a teenager and that there are still so many with the same enthusiasm who are keen to share their experience with others. I am also thankful that there are still so many people of principle to offset those that threaten a fair ,civilised society.

Thanks Chuck. Dec. 30, 2013 near Canelo, AZ
Chuck, Sky, Jasmine & a mortified Dirk

Near the same area a year later. The ol' T-Bone backing technique, rarely seen. Also called the cross point.

I was so proud That maneuver took HOURS of training, as did this

Drew, that's incredible.

I had long thought the earless pointing deer was extinct.

Native to Kansas Chuck. They drop their ears when they grow up