Dogs are the Best People
Especially this guy
“Dogs are family” is a saying I’ve agreed with wholeheartedly for many years. I’m fortunate enough to have had dogs in my family since I was three years old - with only a couple gaps when university dorms didn’t allow them and similar.
The handsome guy in the photo at the top of this post is Baz. He passed away a little over a year ago. I’ve been around and owned many wonderful dogs over the years, but I have never felt as close a bond, as big a connection, with any of them as I did with Baz. Even driving home from the rescue agency on the day we adopted him, I felt like he and I already knew each other well. And over the years I realized that I’d never known any other dog who would maintain eye contact with me for as long as he very often (I want to say nearly always) did.
He was with me / my family for 10 years, and lived until he was just a couple months shy of turning 14. For an English Labrador who was 94 pounds when we adopted him and very tall, it was a good innings, as they say in the UK.
I have a 27 inch computer monitor that I use as a digital photo frame (using a Chromecast device) that sits on a table off to the side of my work area. Photos of Baz pop up pretty regularly there, and if I happen to be standing or walking around when they do I can’t resist going over to the screen and tapping on his comically large nose. And I look into his eyes, and he’s here with me again.
A couple of weeks after Baz passed away, I was out on the walking path at my apartment complex and a fellow dog owner asked where Baz was. I told him that he had recently passed, and he said some very kind words to me about Baz being a really good guy. I thanked him and said what came naturally in that moment - that I sometimes think I have met more dogs that are good people than people who are good people.
I’m thinking about Baz a lot this morning because of another dog, a new family member - Lucy. Here she is:
I dropped her off for a mini doggie spa day - bath, anti-shedding shampoo, ear cleaning and more - a couple hours ago. And even in that short space of time, things just don’t feel right while I go about my morning. Little things are missing - like when I put coffee on to brew, she’s not staring at me with laser focus, knowing that when I get coffee she gets a coffee treat.
Anyway, none of this is breaking news - just a Saturday morning reminder for me that dogs are great people :)
Just had Katrina read this for the first time. She loved it!
They really, REALLY are the best people. In addition to your help through cyber learnings, Moss, our three year old golden helped me study. Now he's helping my wife through nursing school. He's the source of joy during stressful time, and an unrelenting support system. He makes my life better, and the best thing i feel like i can do for him is give him the life he deserves.