The Dogs We Love
#11 in the series of non-religious Sunday posts
"I want to work like a dog, doing what I was born to do with joy and purpose.
I want to play like a dog, with total, jolly abandon.”
―Oprah Winfrey—
I am resting today with Weber by my side. He is really just about the best dog an author could have. He became a lay-beside-me dog because my lap is most often occupied by my laptop. He is incredibly patient with the hours I spend writing and editing and always listens intently when I reach the stage where I need to read something out loud.
Weber is a rescue dog who was transported to Colorado from New Mexico—much like me. He has lived four of his seven years with us in RV parks. The other three years—during the pandemic—were spent in my daughter’s home with our Grand Dog, Jirachi.
We are convinced Weber was raised by cats before he came to live with us. He sleeps in a cat bed but enjoys the back of a couch, and killed a mouse the other day. Why Weber? Why?
The dogs in our lives bring us sparks of joy. I am sad when the homeless are asked to give up their animals to access shelter. We can do better. Sometimes our pets are our only lifeline.
I cannot imagine our family story without dogs. We just keep adding joy to our lives!
I wasn’t a dog person until we found Willie. We wanted my son to have a dog and Willie could not have been a better companion. And when our grandson arrived, Willie adopted another boy.
"Did you know that there are over 300 words for love in canine?"
—Gabriel Zevin—
Our family fondly remembers these two amazing dogs who are no longer with us.
“The most difficult thing about having a dog is the goodbye.”
—Anonymous
Finally, since this week’s content includes the topic of joy, so I thought it would be appropriate to end this reflection with the following two quotes:
“Because of the dog’s joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift.”
—Mary Oliver—
“In times of joy, all of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag.”
―W.H. Auden—
For All Animal Lovers!
The publisher of my BRAVE books, Cladach Publishing created this gem of a book several years ago. It is a collection of short stories written by Cladach authors about the animals in their lives. Learn more here
My short stories are The Dog-Nose Miracle and What’s in a Name? (the story of Weber)
I was never a dog person until Sugar (our son Andrew’s dog). He was the best! A smooth-coat miniature dachshund. He could be left at home alone all day long without a problem. He liked to crawl under the covers on our bed and curl up in a little lump. He had hospital privileges for a couple years and was lying on Andrew’s bed when Andrew died. Losing him a couple years later was so much more difficult than I thought it could be!
And today we have Milo who is definitely mine. Having him has been a great illustration of God’s delight. I know he is always glad to be with me.