I've decided I rather like having a dog to come home to. Although my wife and kids are usually pretty consistent about hellos and goodbyes - my wife believes in making these moments special - there are times when the only greeter at the door has four legs and a soggy Schnauzer beard. When everyone in the house is too busy to get to the door, I can always count on our silver-furred hellion to attack the door until I can get it open. In the truest guard dog tradition, he'll bark and howl until he realizes it's me. Then he'll bore in, nubbin-of-a-tail wagging madly as he buries his head in my chest and snorts repeatedly.
I'm not quite sure what he hopes to accomplish in the process. I can hear all manner of sniffing going on, and all I can come up with is he's following his instinctive hunting dog's DNA as he tries to figure out where I've been, what I've done and who I've done it with.
Before long, I'll have to get on the floor because that just seems to make it so much easier to enjoy this wiggling ball of fur. It's always the same, and it never gets old. I think it's the unconditional nature of it all that makes moments like this worth holding on to. He'll be there, drooling and happy, no matter what kind of day he or I had. He doesn't temper his excitement for anything - the world revolves around the two of us for those few first moments on reconnectedness. He's happy simply because we're together.
I keep thinking there's a lesson here, and all I need to do is listen to him a little more closely. I think I need to be a little more like him - unconditional, in the moment, simply happy to be together, and to simply be - whoever I'm with.
Good dog, isn't he?
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Flames of Winter
21 hours ago
14 comments:
He is a good dog.
Sounds like you're very much there, in that moment...
He is a good dog.
Is he good about letting you know when he has "business" to attend to? That is my only complaint about the Daisy.. she is so quiet... no barking at all... at least only once every 9 months.. she last barked on October 10th, 2009...it scared me then. The next time she barks it might bring on a heart attack.
Love this post. There is something special about a dog & it's true heart. :)
Woof.
He is our sweet puppy. No matter what mood we're in, a cuddle with mr. Frasier always puts us in a better mood.
woof!
xoxo
You continue to explore what makes life worth living...
Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
We could all learn a lesson from the unconditional love a dog shows us daily.
My cats love me, and it is apparent, but their affection is always conditional.
I love this post. Your description of doggie love is so true. Our new dog Jack is like this too. Unconditional love.
Are you going to revive Thematic?
Dog pictures would be a good start.
Aunt Snow (also known as g)
That is why pets are good for our mental and physical health. They love us unconditionally.
It's because they are predictable. No matter what kind of day your dog has had, he or she will respond the same when you walk in that door. People? You never know. (cats, same thing)
Dogs are consistent and reliable, and we all need some of that in our lives.
My dog is the same way, except without the Schnauzer physical traits. She's a floppy Cocker Spaniel.
He's a GREAT dog. (Love this life lesson, Carmi. Wonderful post. Thank you for sharing it.)
"The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too."
~ Samuel Butler, Notebooks, 1912
What a great lesson... I can't wait to have a dog to come home to, too! Looks like maybe after we get home from the honeymoon.
Here's hoping you are doing great, C!
great dog, in a fantastic home, that YOU helped create.
here is a bone Carmi, Sit stay!
I've long said the world would be a better place if humans were more like dogs. Somehow though, we expect the opposite to be the case. I for one am awfully glad it's not, because if dogs had the human characteristics we try to confer on them, mankind would cease to rule the earth.
Somebody (I forget who) said that if you wanted a lesson in perspective, lock your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car. Then come back in an hour and see which one of them is actually happy to see you.
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