Must Love Dogs

At a rate of about 95 percent of the time that I see or meet random dogs at a random location on a random day, they would always manage to get my attention and -- depending on their demeanor and cleanliness -- elicit from me a friendly whistle, a gentle pat on the head, or a thorough petting all over. There's just something about these animals that I really love and connect with.

Canis familiaris. The domestic dog. Man's best friend.

The human race has had a rich and lengthy relationship with these playful and loyal creatures. So much so that they -- along with cats -- have become the animals most commonly inducted into a family of human beings. I know we did... over the years.

I grew up having a dog around the house on a regular basis. We would either purchase one, adopt one or ask for one from friends. Once home with us, we welcomed the pup warmly into the family and made it feel as comfortable as possible. Initially, we would think we were doing the pooch a favor by caring for it, but as months and years passed, and the dog starts growing, we realized the dog was actually doing us the favor by being a part of our lives.

Sometimes we'd lose a dog to accidents (two of them got run over by cars). Sometimes we'd leave one behind because we've had to relocate to another city (we've made such moves several times over the years). Sometimes we'd lose another to illness (it's heartbreaking to see your beloved pet degrade and lose their passion for life).

Dogs hold a very special place in my heart. They are relentlessly loyal, inherently playful, and surprisingly empathetic. They can even sometimes be the other party of a meaningful relationship when a human can not or will not fill that blank space. These are some of the reasons that these animals are fondly called 'man's best friend'.

Loyalty

When you've nursed and nurtured a puppy to adulthood, a strong bond is formed between canine and human. Dogs are relentlessly loyal and very protective of its family -- quadrupeds and bipeds alike.They walk with you, run with you, play with you. They stay with you even after you've gotten angry with them. They're just built that way.

I recall forming this bond of loyalty with Duchess, a female mongrel that I took care of from being a pup up to her adulthood. We had her in the family for four years. She was so loyal that she would join me as I took my then three-year-old niece for walks around the neighborhood we used to live in. She was very faithful to us -- to me -- up until the day she was run over by a car.

Playfulness

Around the same time we had Duchess, an uncle of mine 'loaned' us a dalmatian named Rico. Now, as you may well know, dalmatians can grow really big and Rico was no exception. When we had him, he was probably a 'teenage' dog, and man was he huge. Rico was also the full embodiment of an active and zestful dog.

Dogs are inherently playful. They'll spend a lot of time mouthing, nipping and play biting each other, and, if you let them, they'll do the same to you. They love catching balls and fetching sticks. The love running round and playing 'tag'. They seem to have this boundless energy for all things fun! This is one aspect of dogs that I particularly love: infectious joy and zeal for the simple things in life.

Empathy

Yet another quality about the domestic dog that really captivates my heart is their ability to empathize with their human. They may not be able to utter words to encourage us but they are able to use other means of communication to let us know that they care and are there for us.

One time, I remember feeling the doldrums while at home by myself. I sat outside our front door to ponder on some things. The next thing I noticed was Duchess approaching me and sitting on my lap. I then just proceeded to pet her gently and somehow it made me feel better to know that this loyal creature was expressing her concern for the way I felt.

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Dogs are so precious. If not to all of mankind, then certainly to me. In the last few years of the Internet's proliferation I have seen this question asked regarding our relationship with our canine companions: "What did we do to deserve dogs?"

The answer I can offer is "nothing," really! As with everything else in life, all has been given and done by God because of His grace. So, I would venture to say that our friendly pooches are God's gift to us humans. I would even venture further out to say that man's best friend has been given to us specifically to demonstrate some of the Almighty's characteristics: relentlessly loyal, inherently playful, surprisingly empathetic.

If these adorable creatures aren't already a favorite of yours, then you need to find one to learn to appreciate, live with and care for.

You must love dogs!

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Unless you're a cat person.