If you're a dog owner ... or maybe a cat owner, though I've never had a cat so I have no frame of reference as to the bond between human and feline ... if you're a dog owner, you know how very special those furry creatures can be and what an integral part of your life they become. I've been blessed to have had many dogs during my 61 years of life, dating back to when I was two years old and my parents owned a beautiful collie named Lady. I don't remember Lady, of course, but I've heard many stories about her from my family and I've seen an old photo taken in our backyard of me dressed in an adorable red and black velvet coat with matching hat, standing beside the quite regal Lady.
From Lady the collie to Frisky the chihuahua to Peaches the poodle to Rocky the mutt, I have many wonderful memories of the dogs that graced my childhood home. From an early age, I was taught to love dogs and to appreciate the love that dogs could give me, and I think perhaps that was one of the greatest gifts my parents ever bestowed upon me. Well, the greatest gift that mainly my dad bestowed ... Mom was never much of a dog person, but she loved Dad and Dad loved dogs. A precious gift that has followed me throughout my life ... a gift I've been blessed to pass along to my own children and that they are they're passing on to their children as well.
I'm convinced that the love of a dog is one of the purest forms of unconditional love a human can ever experience, if not the purest of all. Dogs don't keep track of wrongs done to them ... even those who are horribly abused want only to love and be loved. They don't see our faults or failures or flaws. When we are sad or sick or suffering, their greatest desire is to comfort us, to care for us, to console us. I've often heard it said that as humans we don't deserve dogs, and I think there is much truth in that statement. I also think, however, that perhaps that's the very reason God gave us dogs ... because we don't deserve them. What better way for Him to teach oft times quite unlovable people about love than by pairing them up with a furry, wet-nosed, tail-wagging, lap-sitting, kiss-giving creature who loves us so completely and so unconditionally? A love that is steadfast until the moment they draw their very last breath ... a love that never fades or wanes or gives up. Never ever ever.
I've been abundantly blessed to be able to work from home for more than a year, and without question one of the greatest blessings of having my office at home is being able to spend all day every day with my little wiener boy, Ollie. It took less than a week for me to realize that if I'm working at home, Ollie has no intention of sleeping in his regular dog bed on the couch. After a few days of him whining and constantly gazing at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes ever, I finally realized that he needed another dog bed ... not on the couch but down on the floor by my feet. Since I had just gotten him a new "on the couch" bed, I did what any dog-loving mom would do. I pulled out my AmEx card and ordered him a new "by Mom's feet" bed ... next-day delivery of course. And by my feet in his new bed with a fleece blanket is where my sweet wiener boy has spent almost every hour of the workday since March of 2020.
Ollie has a multitude of nicknames, as do most well-loved puppers. Wiener boy, Doodle Bear, Wolliver, Squiener, Little Dude and Buck are just a few of the monikers he responds to. Spending all day every day with him over the last year, however, has given rise to two new nicknames ... names I find myself calling him quite often. While Ollie is still quite active and doing well physically, he is getting older (my little guy is around 13ish years old, or at least that's the vet's best guess since he was a rescue), and with age comes changes, for humans and canines alike. Perhaps the most notable of those changes for Ollie is the color of his fur. What once was solid red now has more than a slight sprinkling of white mixed in. In the case of his sweet little face, that white has pretty much taken over. His paws are getting quite gray, and he has a definitive white stripe down his back as well. Hence the reason his newest nicknames are Ollie the Gray and Little Old Man. And yes, he does indeed respond to both of them.
I've learned to be thankful for so very many things over the last year. My children and grandchildren and most of my extended family have remained healthy. I've remained healthy. I work for a company that cares about its employees' health and well-being, and has allowed us to work from home long-term. I haven't had to shop inside a store for groceries or anything else in more than a year ... thank you, curbside pickup! And then there's the smaller, but equally important, things like masks and video chats and trying new recipes and learning to cut my hair. That last one is questionable ... how the heck do people cut the back of their own hair anyway?
Not the least on my thankful list is the precious time I've had with my Ollie boy over the last year. I certainly hope we have many, many years left together, but in my heart, I know he's beginning to enter into his twilight years. He's considered to be geriatric by veterinary standards, but he still loves to go on walks and play with his squeaker toy and race up and down the wooden sidewalk to our apartment when I say, "Whose bridge is this? Is this Ollie's bridge?" And despite having the beginnings of cataracts, he can still see a rabbit or squirrel or his pal Randy from a mile away. You bet I'm thankful for the gift of all this extra time with my little old man, and I try not to take even one moment for granted. That's the most important thing I've learned over the last year, you know ... not to take one moment for granted that I'm blessed to spend with my kids and grandkids and extended family and friends and yes, even my little Ollie the Gray. And you know what? I hope I carry that lesson ... that abundant lesson of gratitude ... with me for the rest of my life.
Take care of yourselves, friends, and take care of each other.
