You'll all be glad to hear that my sweet pup is doing well. What's that? You didn't know there was any reason to believe he wasn't doing well? No worries. He's doing well again so we'll focus on that. In fact - he just had a yearly check-up and his vet continues to be amazed at just how healthy our 13 year old Little Black Angel is. I'm pretty sure he used the word "amazing" to describe our dog at least 10 times during the appointment. Yes, his hearing is not what it used to be, his eyes have clouded over a bit and he moans and groans a little more than he used to - but as far as 13 year old dogs go he's amazing. Of course, this just serves to feed my belief that Dash is actually an "eternal dog". Chris worries when I talk like this but really - all evidence points to Dash being with us forever so why deny it?
Dash may not be the most well behaved dog in the world. His reputation for destruction in his youth may have been well earned. He may not come when we call him or retrieve objects we throw for him. He may have a supernatural ability to seek and destroy every bit of cardboard in the house. He may eat his poop and roll in stinky things outside. We may have to live with the shades drawn to avoid his piercing bark with every passing squirrel and bunny. It may take 20 minutes to walk around the block as he dillydallies and wanders, stopping every few feet to sniff and mark his territory. We may cover the furniture with blankets so that he can sit with us and contort our bodies around him while we sleep. He may - in fact - have us wrapped around his little puppy paw.
Dash may not be the most well behaved dog in the world. His reputation for destruction in his youth may have been well earned. He may not come when we call him or retrieve objects we throw for him. He may have a supernatural ability to seek and destroy every bit of cardboard in the house. He may eat his poop and roll in stinky things outside. We may have to live with the shades drawn to avoid his piercing bark with every passing squirrel and bunny. It may take 20 minutes to walk around the block as he dillydallies and wanders, stopping every few feet to sniff and mark his territory. We may cover the furniture with blankets so that he can sit with us and contort our bodies around him while we sleep. He may - in fact - have us wrapped around his little puppy paw.
Dash may not be the most well behaved dog in the world - but he is without question the most loved. Oh, how we love our sweet dog. He is a special dog - a true gift from God. It brings us joy to care for him - to be his owners - to call him ours. He brings calm to our souls - our home - our lives. God has used him to teach us patience - responsibility - love. He is sweet, funny, loving, snuggly, protective. He's our dog, but more than that - he's the third member of our family - he has been with us as long as we have been - longer, actually.
I pray, with all my heart, that he is a happy dog. In fact, I measure our success as his owners not by how well he behaves or how obedient he is - but by his level of happiness. I realize there are many people out there who disagree with this approach - who believe good behavior and obedience are in fact at the very root of happiness. They are entitled to their opinion but I'd be willing to bet their dog isn't as special as ours.
