Dogs: Our Heros, Our Lifesavers

I guess another name for this blog could be 'Ode to a Dog'.

Another blogger, All Things Repeat, was kind enough to comment on yesterday's blog about how dogs can be true motivators and lifesavers for us.
A.T.R., I'm so happy you have your miniature american eskimo to help you through the hard times. Your comments made me think of others I know who's love of a dog, not only helped to give them direction and focus to their lives, but in some cases helped them to keep going day after day.

One of these people is a collegue and good friend. She was at a very difficult point in her life and, I can't remember how, but she found this lovely little teddy-bear pommeranian. That dog is so much a part of who my friend is. My friend had dreamt or been told of an angel coming into her life, I'm not sure if she was skeptical or not, but after she found and adopted Chloe (the pom.), she found out the dogs' name had previously been Angel. This cute, cuddly little dog, is kind of stand-offish at first. It took almost a year of working in the same office for her to trust me enough to cuddle in my arms and fall asleep. I don't blame her, she was there for my friend (her Mom), I was just an aunt. My friend had another dog, Sully, her and her husband adopted. Sully was some kind of poodle mix with a wonderfully gentle nature. He used to come with them to work too. Sully and I got on so well, that my friend asked that if anything happened to her and her husband, sould I take care of Sully. Naturally, I was happy to agree. Thus I became Sully's God Mother...and he my Dog-son.

Oops, I'm getting off track. The point of all this is that Chloe helped my friend through her hard times, and even continues to monitor my friends' health by sniffing her breath.

Another friend of mine has a few dogs. One in particular helped her to keep going. This friend was (at one point in her adult life), suicidal. The care of the dog, the unconditional love this dog gave, the non-judgemental attitude of the dog, kept her going, even when the love of her family failed. Now, that's a strong influence, whether we realize it or not. I mean, if your family fails where a dog succeeds...
Maybe it's just that judgemental thing. Dogs don't comment on the conversation you are having with it, they never tell you what they think is best for you, they never degrade or abuse you. All they do is listen, and like A.T.R. said, lick your tears away, with love that comes from somewhere so deep within and without, it's impossible for me to fathom.

I know I may offend a few people by saying this, but I truely believe it's no coincidence that dog spelt backwards is God. I don't mean that dogs are the personification of God, just that God in the infinite wisdom it is, said "humans, as a species, need something that will teach them love, pure love. They need something they can see and interact with everyday, something that also protects them. I think I will create an animal with all these qualities, to remind humans there is a God".

Oh, the picture at the top is one I took when Sierra and I were out for a walk in a canyon. I wanted to get a picture of how high up we were. We were a few feet from the edge, there were no clouds nor mist when I took the picture, and yet when I opened the picture on my computer, there was this funky cloud. Hmmmm....makes you wonder.