To Love A Dog...

A dog is the only thing on earth
that loves you more than you love yourself.

~Josh Billings

Some of you might not understand what writing about dogs has to do with a blog about family, but, well, I guess that's the point of this entry. My brother suddenly had to say "good-bye" to his best buddy yesterday and it has caused me to reflect on how these furry mutts journey into our hearts and entrench themselves so deeply that their loss creates such a piercing pain and hollowness within us.

Some people understand, about truly loving a dog. Some people don't. For those of us that understand, it's hard to explain to those that don't because it simply just is. It is inherent in some, it is brought to the surface in others by the love of a dog, or it just is never going to happen in others. It's hard to explain because I think it has to do a lot with how one is brought up and one's experience with dogs. For me, we always had a dog that was part of the family. I was bitten in the face by a large dog when I was young, and bitten on the ankle while riding my bike by another, so by all rights I should not be a dog lover. However, having family dogs that I loved and who loved and protected me...well, the bad experiences did not turn me away from all dogs. There are bad apple dogs, and usually on the other end of the leash is a bad apple human. And sometimes accidents just happen and nice dogs bite nice girls.

To many, a dog is simply an animal, meant to work or be an accessory to human life. That is what they know and that is the extent they will allow the relationship to develop. A dog's life is expendable and replaceable, something to be held at arms length. To others, a dog is a member of the family, often with near equal footing to the human members (even trumping the two-legged ones on occasion). (0:

If you are raised one way it is hard to understand the other's point of view. I naively thought that everyone loved dogs, or at least understood how another person could love dogs, for way too long. We dog-lovers often impose our mutts on others, never thinking of it as an imposition because, well, the dogs are part of our family (sorry, Mortensons!). On my side of the extended family, it is not rare to have six to eight dogs under one roof during a family get-together. It is understood that they are welcome and although it makes for added chaos and accidents, it works for the most part. When I moved to Utah, I brought that mentality with me and it took me a while to realize that not everyone shared that view. I owe my in-laws an apology for inadvertently making them accept our dogs in order to spend time with us.

I have since learned the lesson and try to be more sensitive, but it is hard. My dogs are not just these four-legged creatures with wet noses who eat and poop a lot. They literally are and have been some of my best friends. When I was sick for so long, Smoke knew when it was really bad and she would curl up on the floor right next to me and would not leave me until I could stand. Silver does that now, staying at my bedside or on the floor next to the toilet with me until I'm better. At our Price and Eden homes where the bedrooms were on the top floor, Sage would leave her comfy bed in our room and sleep each night at the top of the stairs when Colt was gone for long stints.

Why do we love them so? Because of that...because they have this capacity for unconditional love and understanding that a human does not. If you're having a rotten day, they are there with free hugs. They'll take your grumps and grumbles and still smile and come back for more. They will still love you if you forget to feed them (they might drive you crazy reminding you, but they will still love you) or are too tired to take them for a walk. They love you no matter how you look, no matter how you change, no matter if you're having a good day or a bad one. They hear all your complaining, venting and pity-parties and answer with a slobbery kiss. They will follow you to hell and back and lick your burns. There are no conditions to their love...they require no explanations or excuses.

Unconditional love.

That's what and why.

So, if you're not a dog-lover and have struggled to understand we wacky people who are, maybe this helps explain it a little better. Our dogs are part of our family and we might forget that you don't feel the same...but please don't hold it against us. We're the victims of slobbery unconditional love.