FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND WHY I LIKE MY DOG

Mom – “I liked your hair better the other way”

Kids – “That style’s too young for you”

Friends – “(gasp) WHAT did you do to your HAIR?”

Dog – “Woof! (lick, lick, lick)”

There’s truth to the saying that your dog loves you no matter what. You could beat him five nights in a row, and he would still be at the door, tail wagging, waiting for you on the sixth night. Your dog loves you even when you ignore him because you have a new boyfriend and come in all hours of the night, turning his schedule into shambles; when you don’t feed him on a regular schedule; and when you are a sniveling mess who never gets out of her pajamas or brushes her teeth because you broke up with said boyfriend. He doesn’t criticize, demand, or expect things from you. You could be a serial killer and he’d still love you.

Does your family show you that much devotion? Your parents, bless their hearts, still ask “When was the last time you got a haircut?”, “Lose your razor?”, or “Why don’t you get a more practical car? You’re not a teenager anymore.” Your own kids, who beg and whine when they lose their jobs or life savings in a Ponzi scheme or expect you to get up in the middle of the night to pick them up when their car breaks down, turn their backs and treat you like a stranger if you call for help with a tree that fell across your driveway.Your dog’s out there right now, trying to pull that tree out of the way, branch by branch.

Got friends? Yup, me too. Sometimes we like them better than family – after all, we got to CHOOSE them. And they’re the ones we call for help with that tree. But there are expectations. They expect us to act human, and adult. They expect us to be rational when that boyfriend breaks up with us or we have trouble with a co-worker. They expect us to listen to their problems, too – which we do, willingly, but there’s always that ‘edge’, the boundary you don’t cross, things you just don’t say.  Your dog expects nothing, won’t get his feelings hurt, doesn’t think his life is worse than yours, and is ready to bite said ex-boyfriend or co-worker at your command.

Sometimes we’re the ones that don’t want any of these things around- friends, family, OR (gasp) the dog. We just want to curl up with a good book and a mug of something and a bunch of cd’s, and read all night with nobody nudging us to get up or go do something else. If we fall asleep on the couch and choose to stay there instead of going to bed, nobody cares (well – maybe our back does, the next day…). That’s when a dog is best. You see, he is content to lie on the rug in front of you, snoring and waiting for your mood to improve.

Friends and family, I can hold my own with – I give as good as I get.  But the dog?  I just don’t deserve him.

 National Dog Week ( Sept 22-28) begins this Sunday.  Give yours an extra treat and snuggle, just to let him know he’s your best friend. If you don’t have a pet right now, consider adopting from your local shelter.  All that love is waiting. 

Dedicated to J.T., Angel, and Dixie,

and dogs that have gone …MahLi, Uhuru, Tuffy, TuffyII, and Muffin