This poem discusses how dogs can sense emotions in humans and protect them from harm. It notes that dogs in stories were heroes and could detect when people were trapped or in danger. The poem suggests that both dogs and children have a sense to detect true feelings and clues about others, and that children should speak up when feeling scared or sad, as dogs can provide protection and comfort. It concludes by asking the children to keep their mother safe while their father is away at war.

1. WILL YOU NOTICE
WHEN I’M SAD?
By Roger Harvey © 2012

2. I always liked dog TV shows,
Like Rin-Tin-Tin and Lassie.
These dogs were heroes in my youth.
To me, they both were classy.

3. I liked to read long dog books too.
Some lived out in the wild.
They‟d fight off wolves and bears and things,
But never harm a child.

4. News stories also make me ask,
“I wonder how dogs know
That after storms blow houses down,
There‟re people trapped below?”

5. I sat upon the beach one day.
I took my dog to swim.
But then a bad man came too close;
My dog did not like him.

6. He looked like all the rest to me,
Who walked past us that day.
But my dog sensed, “There‟s something
wrong.”
He growled, “You stay away.”

7. One other time when I was sad,
My dog who loved to play
Could tell something was wrong with me;
So by my side he‟d lay.

8. These stories have a message
For all children we hold dear.
This world has good and bad things.
We should make this fact more clear.

9. At first you might be asking,
“How ever do you know?”
But if a dog can sense it,
There must be things that show.

10. So I look hard to notice things,
When differences are small,
Between what might seem fine to me
And what might make me fall.

11. It‟s like those dogs with special skills-
The ones in all those books.
I‟ve learned to trust more how I feel,
And not how something looks.

12. I know a family with a dog
They rescued from abuse.
This dog had lived an awful life,
„til someone cut her loose.

13. She has a loving family now
With Evan, Ty, and Dil.
When someone says, “Who‟ll be my friend?””
She wags her tail, “I will!”

14. This tale might teach us something
All children need to know:
That kids, like dogs, have senses
To trust so love can grow.

15. I‟ve learned both dogs and children
Somehow just know what‟s true.
And if you see their little clues,
Great wisdom comes to you.

16. So dear small children everywhere,
Speak-up when scared or blue.
If rescued dogs get happy homes,
Just think what‟s there for you.

17. And while I‟m gone remember
Just what I‟m fighting for.
I‟ll trust you guys to keep Mom safe,
While Daddy‟s off to war.