Thursday, October 22, 2009

THE DEFINITION OF LOVE - D-O-G-S!

I’m always amazed at how happy my dogs are to see me. I can roll out of bed, hair disheveled, with a cranky disposition talking to myself, with arthritic limbs limping across the floor and there stands my dog wiggling her body, making sounds of delight, tail knocking against everything, with eyes filled with love…………..how do they do that? If I go out of the house for just ten minutes and return, you would think by looking at the reaction of my dog that I’ve been gone for ten days! She’s jumping all over me, licking me, talking to me, and you would have thought she lost her best friend by the way she’s acting. And that’s just it……we are their best friends. We are their everything! How did we get so lucky?

Dogs don’t have any sense of time. So if we are gone ten minutes or ten days, it’s all the same to them……we were gone. That’s all he knows. Now we’ve returned and he’s so happy to see us again. Any time away from us is too long in the dog’s eyes. I told you in another article I’ve written, that I believe that dog’s are co-dependent animals. They’re attached to us at the hip. We know that all animals (in fact all living things) have a purpose here on earth. What’s the dog’s purpose? What reason was he put here? I feel God put him here to be a companion to man and what better companion can a man have than his dog?

When you think of it, it doesn’t take too much to make a dog happy. Food, water, and shelter are the requirements for all animals to live a normal life. However, the dog is the happiest when he is a part of our lives. Besides his basic needs, the dog has an enormous desire to be a part of our lives. The German Shepherd Dog is not content being a kennel dog. Because of his exceptional intelligence, he’s the happiest when given something to do and when he’s with us. These are hard working dogs, but at the same time a fun loving dog. He loves rides in the car, going to the park or beach. He loves taking a walk or a hike. Just watch how happy he is crashing through the woods or high grass. Watch him as he rolls on a freshly mowed lawn kicking his legs every which way. Life for the dog is wonderful. Why? Because he’s doing things with us. These are activities that require human interaction. This is when he’s at his best. It’s almost like he’s saying, “Look at me. Aren’t I smart? Aren’t I talented?” They love the applause and attention that they get when they are doing something with us. They thrive on the “good boy”, “good girl” reaction they receive from us!

Because the dog wants to please us so much, when we chastised them, you would think that their whole world just fell apart. No one can deny that these dogs are very emotional. Just take a look at the way they put their heads down, the lively brown eyes that we saw a few moments before are now “sad puppy dog” eyes. The tail may be tucked and he may slink across the floor and go lay down over in the corner. The one that he adores is unhappy with him and he reacts in a defeated “child like” way.

No where is there more of a pure love than what we receive from our dogs. Nothing is asked of us and so much is returned. If a person gets mad or deceives someone else, then the other person might hold a grudge or leave the deceiver. With dog’s, it doesn’t matter what you do to them; they’ll still love you no matter what. Stupid, you might say. Maybe even foolish some will say. The dog loves blindly……with no judgment or preconceived idea of what you should be or what you should look like. In his eyes, you are fine just the way you are! It’s amazing that they can love so strongly, yet they don’t hate. They may fear, but they don’t hate.

I am convinced that dogs are on another level of consciousness altogether than you or I are. Their senses are much more attuned to things than you and I am even aware of. They know when storms are coming sometimes before we do. They know when we are blue, lonely or depressed. They pick up on our emotions without being told that we are feeling that way. The dog can sense our moods. Many times their sense of smell can detect that we have a medical condition even before we know about it. If a dog’s owner dies, it’s not unheard of that the dog will moan the loss of his best friend.

It matters not what type of food you feed the dog, just as long as you feed him. It doesn’t matter that you don’t live in a mansion, just as long as he’s by your side. It doesn’t matter if you’re an old “fuddy duddy” just as long as you’re his “fuddy duddy!” It doesn’t matter to the dog that you just yelled at him to leave you alone and go lay down. Nope, just as long as you reach out and pet him once again. You can be miserable to the entire world that knows you, but to your dog you’re the best person on this earth.

The man may domesticate other animals and love them as much as he does his dog, but many times the other animals love is more restricted. No one makes a fool of themselves for their owner like the dog! Might as well face it, the dog is addicted to love!

When you think of it, the dog is a wolf that’s became domesticated. The wolf is a known predator that uses his intelligence when stalking his prey. When the wolf became a pet to man, he also became submissive to the human’s will. Make no mistake about the German Shepherd Dog (and in fact all dogs) that know how to read their masters and many times can play them to make the master do his will. They have learned through the years what works with us and what doesn’t. They’ve learned to “bargain” with us knowing if they do something we like, they’ll get rewarded for it. Some times they’re one step ahead of us.

When one thinks of all the love that they have had in their lifetime, I bet not one of them can compare to the love that they’ve received from their dog. No one could ever duplicate the purity, the selflessness, the forgiveness, the wholesomeness and joy that a dog is able to give. Oh we may have loved people better than our dogs, but we’ve never received from another person the kind of love that we receive from a dog. It’s impossible for a human to do! With a human’s love, there are too many conditions. With the dog’s love, the only condition is that you show up!

My rating: dogs love: (4), peoples love: (1 – 4)!

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