A man and his dog...

[mhass1129]

Not that it is my personal belief that Heaven (as the Bible describes it) would deny our pets entrance, or that a pearly gate and a golden city is really Hell in disguise, but I liked the story and I thought I'd share it with you guys. I found through an email my cousin (who lives in Canada, by the way) sent to me. I apologize for all the ">" as it was forward mail.


>>>A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was
>>>enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.
>>>
>>>He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead
>>>for years. He wondered where the road was leading them. After a
>>>while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road.
>>>It
>>>looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a
>>>tall
>>>arch that glowed in the sunlight.
>>>
>>>When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that
>>>looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked
>>>like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got
>>>closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close enough, he
>>>called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
>>>
>>>
>>>"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
>>>
>>>
>>>"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water
>>>
>>>brought right up."
>>>
>>>
>>>The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
>>>
>>>
>>>"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the
>>>
>>>traveller asked.
>>>
>>>
>>>"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
>>>
>>>
>>>The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and
>>>continued
>>>the way he had been going with his dog.
>>>
>>>
>>>After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to
>>>a
>>>dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been
>>>closed. There was no fence.
>>>
>>>
>>>As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree
>>>and
>>>reading a book.
>>>
>>>
>>>"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."
>>>
>>>
>>>"How about my friend here?" the traveller gestured to the dog.
>>>
>>>
>>>"There should be a bowl by the pump."
>>>
>>>
>>>They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned
>>>hand pump with a bowl beside it.
>>>
>>>
>>>The traveller filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then
>>>he
>>>gave some to the dog.
>>>
>>>
>>>When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was
>>>standing by the tree.
>>>
>>>
>>>"What do you call this place?" the traveller asked.
>>>
>>>
>>>"This is Heaven," he answered.
>>>
>>>
>>>"Well, that's confusing," the traveller said. "The man down the road said
>>>that was Heaven, too."
>>>
>>>
>>>"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope.
>>>That's
>>>hell."
>>>
>>>
>>>"Doesn't it make you mad for them to
>>>use your name like that?"
>>>
>>>
>>>"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave
their best friends behind."