Out of the mouth of babes...

So much truth in this little story....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old
Blue Heeler named Belker. The dog's owner- Ron, his wife, Lisa, and
their little boy, Shane - were all very attached to Belker and they
were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying
of cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for
Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old
dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me
they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe
the procedure. They felt Shane could learn something from the
experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's
family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog
for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going
on.
Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little
boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or
confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death,
wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter
than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up,
"I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his
mouth next stunned me - I'd never heard a more comforting
explanation. He said, "Everybody is born so that they can learn how
to live a good life - like loving everybody and being nice, right?"
The four-year-
old continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they
don't have to stay as long."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~