For the Love of Dog
If you’re not a dog person, or an animal person, please hang in there, I promise there’s a point to this. :)
7 months ago we invited Cocoa into our home. At that time, just 11 weeks old, she was tiny. Adorably cute, incredibly inquisitive and with serious desire for food, she took over our house in short order, and within a day or so it felt like she had always been here. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and her joy contagious.
But dogs don’t stay puppies for very long, and our sweet girl is no exception.
As she became bigger, her personality began to develop. She became a little feisty, not in an aggressive way, but in a playful, teasing and testing way.
Pushing the boundaries to see what she could get away with, and pretending shame and contrition when she got called out on something. I think the smallest unit of measurable time is how long it takes her to go from being ashamed, to being precocious.
She also became opinionated.
She has a very definite policy on the ownership of food (it’s all hers), and the time we need to go to bed as a family. Her frustrated sighs when she doesn’t get what she wants can rival any hormonal teenager, and her ability to talk back when told No is as funny as it can be frustrating.
Yet for all of the frustrating things that she can do, we love her in a way that is beyond understanding.
And that was where I realized the lesson of her presence in our home.
It wasn’t that she brought love into our home, although she certainly did, but it was so much more. She gave us a focus through which to pour our love, and in a way, she gave us someone to serve.
Each of us have created our own relationship with this wonderful little girl, and found our reservoir of love overflowing with joy at the chance to be around her.
Because the funny thing about love is that the more you give it away, the more of it you have to give.
It’s true that you have to be careful who you give your love to, but in most cases, loving someone despite their flaws blesses not only your life, but the life of the person who you are sending love to.
All of us know that we have our flaws, and our failings, yet all of us desire to be loved and connected with someone else, regardless of their flaws and failings.
Love is about seeing past the surface blemishes, and polishing the diamond underneath, so that you can see the light reflecting outward into the world.
And while the person you love may not be as cute as our puppy, they probably haven’t chewed up as many shoes, nor eaten as many ear-plugs (absolutely serious on that), nor barked at random people walking in front of your house.
I guess this post is really about Love.
We all want it, we all desire to feel it, and we all are worthy and deserving of it, no matter who we are. The more we give it, the more we will receive and have to give away.
There’s nothing in the world like being loved, and no greater gift that we can give.
I’d love to write more, but right now Cocoa is expressing her profound frustration that I haven’t gone to bed yet. If someone ever tells you that dogs can’t talk, don’t believe them. She may not use the same words, but her eyes, and her voice, speak volumes. :)
— Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings