DOG APPRECIATION CLASS FROM START TO NOW

How it started:

Dog appreciation lasted sixteen years with Daisy, who was about this size.

For a long haired miniature dachshund, she cast a giant shadow.

Daisy was a dog of many talents.

She came to our house as a lap dog for my sick father in law. But it was a big job.

She was also my kids’ dog, my mother in law’s dog, my wife’s dog, and somewhere in there she was my dog, too.

She had a strut that showed who the top dog was.

2

After a long night, my wife and I took her to the local vet. I held her in the passenger seat in a nice cuddle.

And that’s where she died, in my arms in the vet’s parking lot.

‘Why me?’, I thought.

She’d been a good dog for the old folks who’d passed, and she was a good dog for the youngs.

We thought of getting a new dog, but I said I missed Daisy and wasn’t ready. That lasted a few years.

It lasted until the wife and I had a nurturing talk.

“Women need to nurture more than men,” she said, or something close.

I wasn’t paying attention, but the idea caught my attention.

We could get a dog if she agreed to do all of the work, the nurturing.

Her dog appreciation is greater than mine? Sounded like it.

3

My wife knew a couple who found the perfect dog for them.

One of us decided a dog like theirs would be perfect for us?

Let the nurturing begin.

We made the adjustments, prepared a dog home, then learned all about phantom dog pregnancy.

About a year later we got a call telling us to get ready for the real deal.

We took a drive and met the potential new dog with all of her brothers and sisters and momma dog.

One dog stood out, and since we had first pick, we took the top dog.

That’s her in the top pic, part poodle, part Bernese Mountain Dog.

The distinctive markings on the coat and face are breed hallmarks and, combined with the intelligent gleam in the dark eyes, add to the Berner’s aura of majestic nobility. 

Berners get along with the entire family and are particularly gentle with children, but they will often become more attached to one lucky human.

When You’re Feeling Lucky

This is what ‘majestic nobility’ looks like ten months later.

Full grown? Maybe.

Full of fun? Definitely.

This dog, Ruby, is an embodiment of every dog I’ve had in the house.

She carries the hopes and dreams of Lucky, Jake, Roxie, and Daisy.

A great squeeze like Lucky, tricky like Jake, wild like Roxy, and loyal like Daisy.

I’m working hard to be the ‘one lucky human’ in her life.

Between five and six o’clock every morning I tend to my writing practice, namely this blog.

I make coffee, take the dog outside, then lock us both in my office for hours of writing fun.

That I bribe her with tasty snacks increases my odds of being The One, but my wife is crowding us.

She bribes me with snacks.

How It’s Going

Ruby has met her ancestors a few times. It usually goes well.

I don’t think she wishes she was more Bernie than Poodle, and neither do I.

This dog doesn’t shed and doesn’t create allergies.

She does create smiles and laughter and joy, but that’s just me.

The dog cracks me up. A real character.

She knows her name but won’t come when called. So she fits right in with the rest of the household.

When she gets excited she doesn’t pee all over like Daisy did, so that’s a plus.

And she holds her own with other dogs, like the Wolfpack of huskies at the dog park with an owner who should stay home until their dogs don’t pack up on other dogs.

Like mine. They took Ruby down and she went full dog jiu jitsu and escaped.

Shortly after, we escaped, too.

Dog Appreciation With Other Dogs

My dog is not a pack animal that gangs up on other dogs.

This gentle puppy with a broad chest is a one dog gang.

I worried about her until I saw her chest bump another dog while running over it.

At the same time, she makes friends. This is Ruby holding hands with her new ‘friend.’

Not too friendly though, since this dog thought Ruby was there just for him.

She wasn’t, but she let him down gently.

The Timing Of Dog Appreciation

Two things that don’t go together: New dog and new hip.

That was me shortly after new dog came home.

I didn’t take her for a walk for a few weeks, but others did.

Thank you, boys. Thank you, Granite. Thank you, Josette.

You never know who the good dog people are until they look after your dog.

It’s easy to talk a good game, but putting it into action is where you find true dog appreciation.

How do you feel about your dog?

I talked to a tough guy who said he had two dogs he didn’t like.

We were at a dog park. His dogs came over and he showered them with the sort of attention you can’t fake.

Did he like his dogs? He loved them, in his manly ways.

And they loved him back.

That’s the deal in dog appreciation.

Life should be so simple.