I woke up this morning and the sun is shining here in New York. It�s a crisp 52 degrees and the weather is comfortable for the dogs that are lying on my back porch. I poured myself a cup of coffee and turned the computer on to see what was happening with my Shepherd friends. Some people are still talking about club business, others talking about litters or shows that they�ve been to. Some I read, some I delete. Same old, same old I say to myself. Then I open the letter with the subject line saying �Wednesday Morning� because I see it�s from my friend Dawn.
I start to read the e-mail and the first line I read is about this little sable ball of fur. I knew it was going to be downhill from there. Dawn�s beautiful �Kizzy� had passed away. She knew it was just a matter of time. She had been ill for a little while now and everyday she was here was a blessing for her loving owner. I won�t elaborate anymore here about the beautiful �Kizzy.� I�ve asked Dawn when she�s up to it, to write her story for I knew that I would not be able to do her justice. I would only be able to skip around the perimeters of this wonderful dog�s life. I know of no one that could do her more justice than her owner who she shared her life with.
People that are not �in the know� question us who love our dogs like they are part of the family��..they think we have a tendency to �humanize� them too much. How can they even question or comment about the relationship that man has with his dog when they have never known this special �unlike any other love� that we dog owners are privileged to share? They are right in one way. Dogs are not human. And that in itself makes them so special. They have truly been blessed with having the biggest of hearts filled with an undying love for his master. They love blindly, unselfishly, and with the purest of all loves that man could ever hope to have. Truly not to know what it feels like to have the love from a dog, man is depriving himself of the most perfect love that God has sent to us!
The dog says so much without ever uttering a word. I once read somewhere that love is a verb�..an action. And so indeed with the dog it truly is. For he cannot tell us how he feels like some empty words a person may whisper in your ear while deceiving you behind your back. He is constantly showing us how he feels. He can�t tell you �I love you� so he must show you that he loves you. He must be demonstrative in order for him to convey that his love is true. So truly the old saying, �actions speak louder than words� was indeed written for the dog because his actions are his unspoken words!
Sharing your life with a dog can only enrich it. There is so much to learn from these marvelous animals. They are only here for a short time and have only been sent to us for one reason and that I believe is to teach us how to love. Every single one of them is a gift and if we never open that gift because we left him in a kennel or tied him up to a tree, then I believe we have insulted the sender of that package of fur. How many of us are wealthy enough to throw away love? It is there for our taking if we open up our hearts for it.
Dogs know how to make a fool of themselves and never make an apology for it. They know how to have fun and play without asking our permission to do it. They know how to enjoy life. They are ever playful no matter what age they are. They invite us to be a kid again! They truly have a �forget your troubles, come on get happy� type of attitude. They truly don�t take life too seriously. Aren�t they lucky that they don�t know how to worry? They are sent to us to be a distraction from worry. They remind us it�s alright to let our inhibitions down and to let loose once in awhile.
Every time that an animal is destroyed in a shelter, every time an animal dies at the hands of his abuser, every time he is left to starve, we have prevented love from being on this earth. The more we destroy love, the more the doors are open for hate, evil and injustice. No time in recent history is this earth in need of more love. Will owning a dog change the world? Maybe not over night, but I bet that a dog can soften some of the hardest of hearts. Not all can be reached, but some just need to know what it feels like receiving the purest form of love with no expectations. I may be philosophical here, but love is really the most basic of needs that man has besides food, water and shelter. Not everyone will meet that love of their life, but it doesn�t mean that they can�t experience what it feels like to know love. Dog�s primary purpose on this earth is to be with man. If man keeps destroying the very thing that he most needs in a corrupt world, then pretty soon there won�t be anymore love to go around. Dogs are love!
Want to know what love is? Go get yourself a puppy and experience some puppy breath and kisses laid upon you. Adopt a senior dog that has the wisdom of his short life in those big brown eyes of his and go share your secrets with him. All he asks for is a gentle stroke of your hand upon his head letting him know that he stills has a purpose here on earth.
Dogs know how to forgive and let go. They don�t know the first thing about what a grudge is. If you give them the second best of everything and keep the best for yourself, he won�t remind you of it at a later time. He�s just happy you thought enough of him to give him anything at all.
If we live in a chaotic confused world, it�s because we have made it that way. Want a stress reliever? Next time you reach for the Xanax, put a leash around your dog�s neck and take him for a walk instead. You�ll both sleep better.
From the book: "LOVE: WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT"......This book is about love. What it is and what it isn't. It is about you--and about everybody who has ever reached out to touch the heart of another. Among many other lessons of the heart, Leo Buscaglia reminds us: Love is open arms. If you close your arms about love you will find that you are left holding only yourself.
My rating: Living your life with and being loved by a dog: (4)
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