PAWS for Beauty
March Memories
By Alice Jane-Marie Massa
As St. Patrick’s Day draws near, I fondly recall those March memories of 1990. I prepared for my first of eventually four trips to Leader Dog School in Rochester, Michigan, during the few days before St. Patrick’s Day, thirty-three years ago. After my arrival at Leader on March 18, 1990, I received my first Leader Dog on March 21. What a beauty was my first guide dog Keller! The long hair of my first guide dog was reddish-gold. Nevertheless, each of my four guides was beautiful in her own way. Thus, when I needed to write a few lines of poetry for contributing to a “crowdsourced” poem, the topic or theme of which was to be “beauty,” I wrote the following seven lines as I thought of not only Keller, but also of Heather (my Yellow Labrador), Zoe (my Black Lab/Golden Mix), and my current Leader Dog Willow (a British Black Labrador). Each of my four demonstrated her beauty both outwardly and inwardly and inspired the following short poem which I presented at the March Readers’ Workshop of the writers’ group Behind Our Eyes.
PAWS for Beauty
By Alice Jane-Marie Massa
Beauty walks with
the graceful, knowing stride
of a guide dog
who leads a poet
through the unseen landscape
of a rhymed life.
Best wishes for a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Alice and Leader Dog Willow
March 15, 2023, Wednesday
alice13wordwalk 
Alice, it is always nice to read anything you write about your four wonderful girls. I must admit that I always thought Keller was the most beautiful with that gorgeous coat, but they all had/have their own special beauty. I hope Willow was not too upset about the French bulldog replacing Labrador retrievers as America’s most popular breed. Never met a dog I didn’t like to steal from Will Rogers, but in my eyes, the F.B.s are not a beautiful or noble-looking dog, just maybe so homely they are cute.
Good Thursday evening, Sue–Yes, Keller was a classic beauty who loved
to be groomed. One time, I measured the feathering from her back legs
at 14 inches. I used to put her in the bath tub to bathe her after
placing a large towel on the floor of the tub. I always thought she
knew how pretty she was. Heather had an extremely thick creamy-colored
coat that made her a beautiful Yellow Lab; my precious Zoe was truly
statuesque and made me think of a “ballerina dog” with her manner of
movement and grace. Then, there is my Willow whom almost everyone
prefers to call “cute.” While listening this morning to the news of the
French Bull Dog’s taking over as the number one dog in the USA, Willow
offered “no comment” because I think my British Black Lab believes she
is “Number One” in most polls–especially in mine. (Smile!)
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Alice and Willow
Hi Alice,
So few words but holding so much sentiment and care! Beautiful piece!
Good Thursday evening, Fran–So nice to read your comment this evening!
Thank you! For me, writing a shorter poem is more challenging than
writing a longer poem.
Sending many good wishes your way–Alice and Willow
Dear Alice,
What a beautiful poem to celebrate your four wonderful Leader Dogs on your 33rd Anniversary! Your love for each one of them and their devotion to you have been remarkable to behold throughout the years.
Love and Best Wishes,
Mary
Good evening, Mary–Willow and I thank you very much for your comment
and your forever support.
Best always–Alice and Willow