Ever wonder what our dogs think
of our busy, stress-filled lives? Do
they understand why we sometimes don't have time to take them on a long walk or
that we're too tired to play ball with them?
They're always so excited to see us after a long day and yet all we do
is yell at them for tearing up the house in our absence. Do we stop to think about how that makes them
feel? Here's a little story about the
life of a human as seen through a dog's eyes.
Don't be surprised if you find yourself reaching for your favorite pup
with one hand and a tissue with the other!
"It must be morning...I'm
hungry. Then again, I’m always hungry so
it could really be any time! I can hear
the shower, so I’m guessing my human is awake.
I lift my head off my bed and look down the passage . I want a shower too. Sometimes I try and get in but he won’t let
me. Boring! He’s not very happy in the mornings anymore. He used to be, but things have changed. I think it’s stress. Not really sure what that is, but I know it’s
not good. It’s a human thing. I’ve heard him talk about it on the phone. Don’t really know what a phone is either, but
I know they’re good to chew! Chewing is one
of my favorite things!"
"In the good old days, we
wrestled and played every morning. These
days though, not so much. We would play
ball before he went to work and again after work too. He’d throw, I’d fetch...he’d throw, I’d fetch...forever! What a game!
So much fun! He’d laugh and talk
human. I’d growl. I’d laugh if I could but
mostly I’d just wag my tail! I think
it’s sad that humans don’t have tails! Sometimes
he’d lose focus, so I would nudge him. Maybe
a little nip on the hand just to keep his head in the game! How much fun can one dog and one human have? But lately he seems grumpy. Sometimes, I wonder if he still loves me. I lick him anyway because he’s my favorite
human in the world! I get so excited to
see him! When he hugs me, my tail wags
all by itself! I wonder why my kisses
don’t make him happy like they used to."
"I liked it more when we
lived in the first house...the little one.
That was 3 houses ago. He played
with me the most in that house. He was
happier and he didn’t yell at me for getting on the couch or chewing his expensive
shoes. We used to watch TV together on
the couch every night. Well, I slept...he
watched! He would rest his hand on my
head. I love that! Now we live in a big house with a big dumb
couch. A dumb couch for humans only...not
dogs! I don’t like the big house or the dumb
couch! He makes me stay down on the
stupid slippery polished floor. The
other day I slid into the table and hurt my nose. Stupid floor!"
"When I was a puppy, we went
everywhere together. We used to walk to
the park every day. We’d hang out with
other dogs and their humans. We don’t
walk together much these days and, when we do, he talks on the phone. I hate that stupid phone! I’m gonna eat it when he’s not looking! We would also go for long drives in the old
station wagon and I would put my head out the window or on his lap. It was the most fun ever! No more head out the window action for me
these days though. Mr Serious has a new
fancy schmancy car. Apparently, it’s a
dog-free zone too. On the rare occasion
that I do get a ride, I have to lie on 3 blankets with no wind in my face. What’s the point of that? Like having a bone you can’t chew! Stupid!"
"We used to go to the beach
every weekend in that old station wagon too.
We surfed together. Well, he
surfed and I chased seagulls, played in the waves and rolled in the sand! He liked talking to the lady humans who
wanted to play with me. They only talked
to him because I was there! Sometimes he
got kisses but I always got more! On the
way home I would put my wet, sandy, hairy body on the front seat and he was
happy I was next to him. I loved that
car too! Those were the days!"
"We haven’t done anything
like that in years. He's just too busy
now. Too busy being successful and
important to have fun with me. Glad I’m
not successful...it doesn’t look like much fun!
I’m so adorable...I don’t understand why he doesn’t miss me! In fact, I don’t really understand him much
at all anymore! He’s supposed to be
smarter than me but I’m not so sure about that these days!"
"I used to sleep along side
him in his big comfy bed. Used to (heavy
sigh) but now he has a new dog-free bed too.
Of course! I hate that bed! I chew the legs when he’s not around! Next year we’re moving to yet another house...an
even bigger one. Maybe that will make
him happy. Hope so but I doubt it. If I could speak, I’d tell him that too! I don’t get the big house thing...us dogs
don’t really care how big our kennel is, we just want to be near our human!"
"I know I’m just a dog and I
don’t really understand a lot of human stuff, but I do
know about fun and happiness! He’s
rarely happy these days and he’s always too tired to do anything fun...even
when I pull his sleeve or lick his face!
If he got rid of the stupid slippery floor, the dumb couch, the fancy
car and just played with me more, then perhaps he would be happy! Me too!"
I hope this serves as a reminder
to us all that our pets have feelings too, and they deserve to be treated in
the same way we would treat our closest human companions. So the next time you're not really feeling the puppy love,
take a moment to put yourself in your dog's paws and think about this touching "tail"!
Wag-wag!
Happy tails to you until we meet
again!
Happy New Year! I hope you and your furry friends all had a
nice holiday filled with fun times and great memories that will last throughout
the year. I know my family and I will
probably never forget this Christmas and our unexpected four-legged visitor.
It was early Christmas Eve
morning when an unknown dog showed up in
my parents' yard. Because they have a
yellow lab of their own, my mom initially tried yelling at the stray animal until
it wandered on down the road. A few
hours later, however, we looked outside and the dog was back, just hanging
around the fenced-in backyard and looking like all it wanted was to play with
their yellow lab. Eventually, the lost
dog took up residency right outside the front door as if to say, "please,
please, please let me in".
The dog appeared to be
healthy and well cared for but didn't have a collar to help us find it's
owner. Not knowing what else to do, we
called the local animal control but, because of the holiday, they were
short-staffed and could only send someone out if it was an emergency. We then placed an ad on Craigslist as well as
Facebook for anyone looking for their lost dog.
Realizing that there wasn't much more we could do and that the dog was
obviously not leaving on it's own, my husband and I decided to give it some
food and water late that evening as it hadn't had anything all day. Up to this point, no one had been able to get
close enough to pet the dog but after some food and water, it came right up to
us and was quite friendly and sweet. We eventually
figured out that it was a female and she appeared to be a pit bull and/or boxer
mix.
The next day was Christmas
and we awoke to the sound of a howling dog...yep, she was still there at the
front door. My husband and I continued
feeding her, giving her treats, and I even started calling her Eve since she
had come to us on Christmas Eve. Kind of
silly, right? Anyway, we gave her as
much love and attention as possible because we felt soooo bad for her and her
family missing each other on Christmas.
By the next day, Saturday, we managed to find a veterinary clinic that
was open and took her there to see if, by chance, she had a microchip. The good news is that she did have a chip but
the bad news is that the chip was not registered so there was no way to contact
her owner.
At this point, we were really
at a loss. Craigslist and Facebook
didn't yield any viable leads and now even the microchip seemed like a
dead-end. My husband and I toyed with
the idea of keeping the dog ourselves, but this just wouldn't be feasible as we
live in a very small condo. By Saturday
night, we decided to put another ad on Craigslist and Facebook to try to find a
new home for the dog. After only a
couple of hours and lengthy text/phone conversations, we found a nice lady who
had recently moved to the area, was missing her family, and had been looking
for a "best buddy". She came
to see the dog early Sunday morning and we could tell right away that she was
an animal lover as she had a paw print collar and plenty of treats already in
hand. Needless to say, they immediately hit
it off. I texted her a day or two later
to see how things were going and she said, "Fabulous. She's housebroken and spayed. She's great!
Everybody loves her! Thank you
Santa Clause!" She named the dog
"BB" for "best buddy" and sent a picture of the dog all
cuddled up next to her in bed. I guess
you could call this a Christmas miracle!
It's more than a week later
now and I still find myself thinking of our little Christmas visitor often and
wondering how she's doing in her new home.
Hopefully it was a happy ending for this lovable doggy who got lost on
Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, there are
many more lost pets roaming the streets all alone out there who may not be as
lucky as this one. The truly sad part is
that this whole situation could probably have been avoided if the dog's
microchip had been registered and kept up-to-date, so let this be a lesson to all
of us. Make a New Year's resolution to
have your pets microchipped and, if they're already chipped, check to be sure the
contact information associated with it is current. My family never fully understood just how important
this is until they went through this experience. Protect your pets in 2016!
Happy tails to you until we
meet again!
