If you've read this blog for even a short amount of time, you know that I'm a dog lover in a big way. I love big dogs, little dogs, and all dogs in between. My dogs bring me great joy with their unconditional love and acceptance, and they bring me deep sadness and sorrow with their illnesses and passing. Their love of play and the wagging of their tails cause me to smile at times in my life when I fear I will never smile again. Their ability to stop and nap when they are tired teaches me much about the need for rest and that it's OK just to snooze from time to time. Their devotion and loyalty paint daily pictures for me about the way we as humans should care for each other. Yep, I love my dogs, and I'm not ashamed to say so.
With the arrival of my sons and daughter-in-law yesterday to work in my yard also came the arrival of four extra canines for the day. Brad brought his big boy, Max, a chocolate Labrador retriever with golden eyes and the sweetest spirit I've ever seen in a dog. Other than helping himself to whatever food he wants from Brad's fridge (thus explaining his somewhat overweight status), Max is a great dog ... laid back, easy-going ... just a really sweet big old dog. Brad and Max give all new meaning to the words, "a boy and his dog." Max adores and worships his Brad ... never wants Brad to be out of his sight, even sitting by Brad and throwing his paw around Brad's shoulders like a human putting his arm around his beloved. Trust me ... it's the funniest dog thing ever ... funny, and yet so very sweet at the same time.
Matt and Becca came with three (yes, three) wiener dogs in tow ... Andy (the smartest little wiener ever born), Chloe (a petite adorable foster dog they chose to keep) and Joey (a 10-year-old long-haired doxie they've been fostering for a while ... who, by the way, is being adopted next Wednesday). Andy is a silver dapple, and he's a very unique-looking little guy with patches of silver hair with black spots, brown around his face and feet, and one blue eye and one brown. He knows all kinds of tricks, including waving goodbye and sitting with a treat on the end of his nose until he is told to get the treat. Chloe was in bad shape when she came to live with Matt and Becca, literally skin and bones with several health issues. With their love and care, Matt and Becca have watched Chloe change into a beautiful little dog with kind of a two-tone colored red coat and a very inquisitive nature. She loves her Mattie and makes sure that every human and other dog knows that he belongs to her. Joey is a gorgeous little guy who reminds me of a fluffy teddy bear. He's loving and has the sweetest little face, and I'm certain that he will make his future owner very happy.
Whether it was all the dogs romping in the yard together yesterday or tearing through my little house in a game of chase, I was struck over and over and over again at how well all the dogs got along. It was Ollie's first introduction to all of the other dogs, and the first time Joey had been at my house or met Max, Julie and Ollie. There was the initial smelling, of course, and a couple of perfunctory barks, but within just a few minutes, all six dogs were playing together, rolling in the mulch together, trying to help Becca plant flowers together, and just generally having an awesome time on a gorgeous sunny day in Kansas. They didn't care at all that some of them were big, some of them were little, or that Ollie ... well, Ollie was the tweener of the group. They didn't care that some of them could jump higher or run faster than the others. They shared treats and a large bowl of water. They didn't fight over anything ... food, water, toys, people ... they just enjoyed each others' company, basking in the sun and being with the humans they love most in this world.
I think I would do well to learn some lessons from the six hounds who bounced around my home and yard yesterday ... to be loyal and faithful without fail, to enjoy the simple things in life, to share with true abandon, to accept others unconditionally, to love with a quiet and gentle spirit.
Release the hound dog in me, Lord ... release the hound dog.
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