I remember when I was a pup, and looking for a home.  I had no place to go, and no human to call my own.

As I wandered about in the streets, in the rain the heat and the snow.  I remember eating what I could find and I was always on the go.

My body ached my skin would itch, and my feet were always sore.  Humans all around me wondered if I was tame, but none of them would even call my name.

Humans thought that hurting me was really lots of fun, I never saw a loving glance, and was always on the run.

And then one day as I was all alone, I heard a voice so soft and so sweet.  She said, “come to me girl, let me lift you off your feet.”

Then softly I heard in my ear, “No more days of wandering, no more days of Fear, I’m taking you home with me” and she began to cheer.

“No more rain upon your coat, you’ll have enough to eat. And when you fall deep asleep your dreams will all be sweet.”

This was a first for me as I lived so long in fear, I had never let a human get so close or come so near.

As she washed out my open wounds and brushed and bathed my fur, she told me about a rescue group that meant so much to her.

“Stiggys Dogs” she said, “would rescue dogs like me, and feed and train me and then they would set me free.”

They would find a wounded warrior that needed help like me, and they would then teach them just how to care for me.

She said, “ We are a circle, a line that never ends. And in the center there is you protected by new friends.”

As we roam around and check all the pounds, we match you up with warriors that you live with once you have been found.

And as we teach these Vets who come from near and far, once your in their home you become the star.

Many wounded warriors need our help so dear, as they too live in constant fear. But with Stiggys Dogs leading the way, our dogs have finally found a place to play. With loving eyes and gentle touch they give back what was lost.

Now every night I say a prayer
to all the gods that be.
“Thank you for the life I live and all you’ve given me.”

-Marine Veteran Fred Koster and Sasha