"Love me love my dog." This is a famous quote that is often seen written on magnets, t-shirts and plaques. The general idea of the saying is a good one. How can a person who hates dogs be with a person who loves dogs? It is not a good combination for sure. I know that I could have never married someone who didn't love dogs. It is really amazing to me that there are people out there that do not like dogs. Of course they will love dogs as soon as they meet and fall in love with one, it is only a matter of time until everyone is on board. "You will be assimilated." You know how it works right? :)
"Must love dogs," should be a prerequisite to work with dogs. But sadly it is not. Many people who work with dogs are just 'whatever' about them. I've run into all sorts of people who work with dogs who are obviously not dog lovers. As far as I'm concerned to work with dogs you should love to hang with dogs. Not simply want to get in on a good thing. The fact is that real dog loving people spend a great deal of money on their dogs. There are those folks out there who just want a piece of it. The whole idea around 'loving dogs' is not a consideration for them; their love is money and they want a piece of the whole 'dog love,' thing.
How do you know if someone you are hiring loves dogs? It is pretty easy to tell if someone loves dogs right from the start. Although there are several types of dog lovers. Two very different groups are the ones who are experienced in dog behavior and those who are not but love them just the same. The ones who are experienced in dog behavior may stand back and seemingly not acknowledge your dog. But they will immediately be talking about your dog. They know how to greet and interact accordingly. Those who are not experienced in dog behavior will throw themselves at your dog. The ones who feel that every dog wants a kiss in the face or a big hug. They love dogs but have yet to learn how to interact properly.
There are people who only love their own dog. I ran into quite a few of those a couple of months ago. Walking along the street Luke and Elsa stopped to say hi to a couple of dogs. The woman holding the leashes of the dogs never even acknowledged our presence. I left feeling strange about the interaction or lack there of. Coming back up the street we ran into the same dogs and women. My guys and the other dogs were happy to see each other again and the woman again showed that they had no time for others. It was strange.
A dog is a dog right? Right. If you truly love dogs then you love them all. From the tiniest pocket pooch to the giant monster breeds. From the hairy monsters to the naked coat adorned. No it doesn't mean that you want to live with every type or size but you love them as dogs. They are all dogs, amazing creatures no matter what they look like. I love meeting new dogs and hearing their story. There are so many amazing stories that one could never finish writing about them. They are a resilient species, amazingly intelligent, ever comical, committed to defend their guardian or simply stand by your side.
The heart of a canine; what's not to love?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Love to hear from you.