[My first of a weekly series of dog-related posts. Funny (I'm so modest!), touching, honest. All dog-related and lots of Jameson anecdotes. Dog lovers everywhere, rejoice!]
I'll preface this post by saying I'm quite fortunate when it comes to the two-legged folks in my life. Stellar parents, badass sister, loyal, funny friends & a supportive, smart boss who makes me actually like getting to the office every morning. That being said, given the choice of going out with those human things and hanging with my dog? I'm always going to pick my dog.
If you're not a dog owner, you may not understand. Honestly? My friends can tell you (I'm looking at you, Alex) before I adopted Jameson, I didn't get it. I grew up with dogs, but letting them in the bathroom with you? Talking in a crazy dog voice? Losing your mind - and your wallet - at the littlest sign of an ailment? I thought you self-proclaimed "dog people" were certifiable.
HA! How time changes things. Yep; Jameson licks my legs dry when I get out of the shower, our vet (a specialist, no less) knows my number by heart and my intern Camille thinks I have the funniest dog voice around.
So, yeah, I'm a crazy dog mom. But my life has a new level of happy -- and humans take a back seat. Why? The list is long, but valid:
I'll preface this post by saying I'm quite fortunate when it comes to the two-legged folks in my life. Stellar parents, badass sister, loyal, funny friends & a supportive, smart boss who makes me actually like getting to the office every morning. That being said, given the choice of going out with those human things and hanging with my dog? I'm always going to pick my dog.
If you're not a dog owner, you may not understand. Honestly? My friends can tell you (I'm looking at you, Alex) before I adopted Jameson, I didn't get it. I grew up with dogs, but letting them in the bathroom with you? Talking in a crazy dog voice? Losing your mind - and your wallet - at the littlest sign of an ailment? I thought you self-proclaimed "dog people" were certifiable.
HA! How time changes things. Yep; Jameson licks my legs dry when I get out of the shower, our vet (a specialist, no less) knows my number by heart and my intern Camille thinks I have the funniest dog voice around.
So, yeah, I'm a crazy dog mom. But my life has a new level of happy -- and humans take a back seat. Why? The list is long, but valid:
- My dog is always happy to see me. It doesn't matter if I've been in an awful mood all day and no one could possibly want to be around me -- he does. Not only that, but he wants to make sure I know just how happy he is to see me. Full on body-shakes; he just can't contain his excitement.
- My dog doesn't nag (unless you count excessive licking). He doesn't question my whereabouts or why I haven't called or why I just don't want to go out tonight (actually, he's pretty stoked about that). As long as he got to go to the park today, he's completely okay with my Netflix binge in our apartment that I should probably be cleaning instead.
- Though I find myself wishing I could text my dog, I can't. Which means I'm never going to wake up to annoying messages from someone I don't want to talk to. It means I never have to remember to turn off my read receipts and my dog's never going to send passive aggressive -- or full on aggressive -- text messages to try and get a rise out of me. Sure, he may chew up my favorite shoes or steal my socks to get my attention, but that's a helluva lot less emotionally exhausting.
- He doesn't talk back. I can create complete conversations between the two of us and I don't have to entertain another mindset. Just me and what I think he would say. Sure, he probably thinks I'm a nut job - but he can't tell me that. And he loves me just the same, because I keep his water bowl full and give him my leftover apple cores. Crazy be damned!
- He takes up the whole bed, but it's okay. When another human's frame keeps you from sleeping comfortably, it's slightly annoying ... even if you love them. You're hot and sweaty and maybe you get sex out of the deal, but you certainly don't get a good night's sleep. But when your dog takes up most of the bed? It's pretty damn comforting. I mean, come on. Who doesn't love it when their dog finally discovers how to be big spoon?
- He reminds me to appreciate the little things. People are always complaining about every. tiny. thing. So much traffic, my boss yelled at me, it's too cold, it's too hot, my nail polish chipped, I can't believe I have to wait in this check out line. We are bothered by any inconvenience. My dog, on the other hand, loves the little things. When it rains outside and there's extra birds feeding that he can chase? BEST DAY EVER! The perfectly sized stick appears on our evening walk? CHRISTMAS MORNING! Roommate's emptying the dishwasher? OMG, I GET TO LICK SPOONS! The ice machine drops an extra couple of cubes on the ground? STOP THE PRESSES, LIFE IS PERFECT! We sure could learn a few things from our pups...
- I can let go of things. I've always been pretty good at not holding grudges and moving past things, but I'm human (yep, dogs trump me, too). Sometimes, something someone does gets under my skin and I just can't shake it. A couple weeks ago, Jameson chewed my favorite (new) bra. To shreds. I was so angry I was in tears, and I refused to come near him ... for ten whole minutes. Then he rubbed up against my legs, looked up at me with his perfectly sweet puppy eyes and I forgave him. Then I got on the floor next to him and played with him, which is all he wanted in the first place. That sweet, wonderful little badass. <3
I could list 100 more reasons why dogs trump humans, but you get the picture. So the next time you have to deal with a total jerk in the Starbucks line, your psycho co-worker, an irate parent of your perfect students (yep, you caught that sarcasm) or a vindictive, evil ex?
Go hang out with your dog. Don't have one? Well, what are you waiting for? Go adopt one. Best decision you'll ever make -- take my word for it.
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