The dog

Dog  -  a domesticated canid, Canis familiaris, bred in many varieties.


       - A domesticated carnivorous mammal that typically has a long snout, an acute sense of smell, and a barking, howling, or whining voice. It is widely kept as a pet or for work or field sports


        -  a highly variable domestic mammal (Canis familiaris) closely related to the gray wolf


The dog is to us many different things.  I think the first and most important is that of companion.  Those of us who have one, two or more canine companions find it most disturbing when we see dogs who live a lonely life without companionship.  Dogs have evolved into our perfect companion when given the chance; and every dog deserves companionship.  


Dogs give us everything and it is not until we give our all that we see what can be.  Once we open our minds and our hearts to a canine the result is simply put; amazing.  The canine is a complex yet simple animal making every attempt to live flawlessly in our human world.  With just a bit of guidance from a human they do a remarkable job.  One I must say that we could not come close to accomplishing with such perfection.  


We expect a great deal from our dogs; in fact we often inflict such high demands that the goal is unobtainable.   There is nothing more sad than a human who is disappointed with their dog simply for being a dog.  A dog is not a human; yet when they act very dog like we are often shocked.


The dog has evolved into our right hand man, our guardian, confidant, bed warmer, best friend and companion in life.  A furry creature with a huge set of teeth, sense of smell far beyond ours, ability to see much greater than us with the talent to communicate without speech.  What else need be said?


I was recently asked to answer several questions about my life with dogs for an article.  My answers were published in the online Wow travel magazine,  titled To the dogs  The photos shown in the article are a few of my favorites from over the years.