Wise words from a six year old....

Check out this great story I received this morning on e-mail. Good news about life, its purpose, and how we might want to live it.

A Dog's Purpose (from a 6-year old).

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolf hound named Becker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Becker, and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Becker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Becker, 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 six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience. The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Becker'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, Becker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Becker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Becker'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, 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good Life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?' The six-year-old continued, 'Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.'