My Dog Loves Me! (For Our Sweet Zoe Girl)

My family loves dogs. We've had several over the years and each one has been wonderful and special in her or his own way. But once in awhile, a dog comes along that is so much a part of your life and family that it goes way beyond the notion of "man's best friend." That was the case with our sweet, 95-pound black lab named Zoe. She had such a knowing and loving look in her eyes that sometimes it looked like she was actually about to say something! Her three favorite things were eating, being with us, and eating. Zoe recently passed away at the age of 13 1/2. We loved her very much, and there was no doubt that she loved us.

So, I thought it would be nice to remember Zoe in a musical way. "My Dog Loves Me!" is an upbeat, happy song that talks about the fun relationships we have with our canine friends. It features a great rhythm section and strings. And it has a fun, easy-to-sing melody with an optional second part during the last chorus.

From a performance standpoint, have your singers and fellow teachers send you pictures of their dogs or pictures of them with their dogs. Then, you can put together a slide show to run while the song is being sung. If you need to go with a simpler plan, have your singers bring in a stuffed dog or a dog toy to hold onto while they sing. You might even want to let your local animal shelter know you are doing this song. They could possibly be on hand to give a quick talk about adoption, volunteering, and donating. At the very least, that could also just be something mentioned in your concert program.

It was great to know you, Zoe. You are very missed, but forever remembered. - KH