I’m watching Jackie win “Best in Rescue.”
She had already won
“Best in Senior Dog.”
She’s eleven, a black Labrador retriever,
and a year ago was left at a kill shelter,
marked for euthanasia.
It’s not the Westminster Dog Show.
Don’t put your gray muzzle,
your off-the-wagon- for-a-week
sobriety,
your shaky relationship, family
that puts the funk in dysfunctional,
your chemo drug
that teaches you to count months —
light
under a bushel basket or a bed.
Nothing is hidden
that will not be disclosed,
because nothing needs to be hidden.
The measure you give, says Jesus,
is the measure you will receive
and even more,
for you are “Best in Rescue.”
So shine!
Jackie’s owner is Debbie Bloom and she was representing A Purposeful Rescue, a non-profit shelter based in south Los Angeles at the Hallmark American Rescue Dog Show which celebrates rescue dogs.
Gifts in Open Hands 