Whenever I see a bumpersticker that declares "I ♥ My Children" or "I ♥ My Husband!" I find myself thinking of course you love your kids. Of course you love your husband...isn't that why you married him?! Why would you have to declare such a thing on the back of your car, for all the world to see?
I like to think that loving dogs enough to put hearts alongside their names in a blog title is not the same as that bumpersticker. But....maybe it is. Life is a bit of a crap-shoot, after all. LOVE is not guaranteed. If we find love, is it okay to declare it on a bumpersticker, or in a blog?
For instance:
When you decide to rescue a dog, you visit all the local pounds a few times, so you can check out the available dogs...yes? If you find a dog that attracts you, you take him out to the yard and play with him. After a few play-sessions, you decide whether or not you like each other enough to spend the next how-ever-many-years living together, taking care of each other in sickness and in health, til death do you part, etc etc. OR you might meet a homeless, lonely dog-on-the-street and just instantly click with him. Love at first sight. You'll still be cautious, of course, and check everywhere to make sure he doesn't already belong to someone else...
It's sort of like dating.
It's a bit different when you pick a puppy out of a litter. All puppies are adorably lovable, for one thing....and almost all of them play well with others, because they don't have any negative history. You're pretty sure you have the best puppy in the world...but you can't really tell if you and your baby will still get along when he's all grown up. There are no real guarantees.
When you pick a puppy, you're at the mercy of the dog gods. Although...you probably did a fair amount of research into the pupster's bloodlines and breeder. Does that count as 'dating'? If you let yourself be at the mercy of a breeder who picks your puppy out of whichever litter he thinks will best suit you, it may seem more like signing up with a matchmaker than dating. You can imagine the matchmaker saying "Here he is, darlin'. Hope ya' like 'im!!" You anxiously resolve to build a good relationship with your new little bundle of joy....
Maybe I'm beginning to understand the bumperstickers.
Did you actually fall in love with the stranger the matchmaker found....someone you will live with forever, come hell or high water? Yes? Wow! ♥
Still head over heels in love with your dog after he's grown into adulthood? ♥! You ended up with a good puppy that grew into a GREAT dog. Woohoo!!! The dog gods smiled on you.
I love it when the dog gods smile.
Riff and I have had some really fun agility practice sessions lately. Oh sure, we still make mistakes during every class...but we're finally figuring out how to be a more consistent agility TEAM. I still have a lot to learn about handling (don't we all)....but Riff seems much more willing to put up with me.
Three reasons:
1) The dog gods smiled on us.
2) I'm able to move better these days (like actually sprint! when necessary).
3) I'm trusting my dog. My dog is trusting me.
TRUST. What a beautiful word.
♥
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