Beyond the outer shell

As I sat watching a video of a tough looking tattooed guy rescue, save and give a tiny little chihuahua a home I thought "what a heart."  Not only was this guy there to rescue dogs from a miller but he took a tiny one of the victims under his wing and made a promise to care for him for the rest of his life.  Touching, inspiring and to some, surprising.  I loved it, partially because it erased the perception that tattoos make a bad person and that tough looking guys can be soft and caring.

This got me to thinking about exterior and how we tend to look at just the outer casing without looking inside.  I get this reaction from many people when they hear that I have Poodles.  Many men won't even consider a poodle because of their foo foo image.  Women tell me that even though they would love to share their life with a poodle; that their husband will never walk down the street with one on a leash.  Silly isn't it?  Is it that important to look cool?  Tough?  Macho?  Does what is on the end of your leash really take away from who you are?

I know that for me, nothing makes a guy hotter than loving dogs.  Well maybe one who rescue, volunteer or save animals as well.  So, no matter what he looks like on the outside he looks great to me when he is a dog lover.  It is all about heart, both in a human and our canines. The heart of a canine is an amazing one.  I see some of the largest personalities in the smallest of canines.  I have often been amused by the tenacity of a tiny little munchkin.  What they lack in size they regularly make up for in heart.

Some of the biggest, meanest, scary looking dogs have the softest, most lovable personalities.  Most of the big scary looking beasts would love nothing more than a big snuggle.  Then there are the soft looking guys who lure you in with their angel like appearance just to show you a side of them that you hadn't noticed.  They may have a sweet as pie exterior but get too close and you see a scary beast.

Exterior image gives us a look at a shell, it offers no information about who is inside.  To truly know and love dogs you MUST look beyond the shell.  I have fallen in love with a lot of dogs over the years and what I fall in love with is on the inside.  A look can melt me, a gesture have me buckle at the knees.  Sure I can more than appreciate the beauty of a dog but that too comes in many shapes and forms.  To me a dog is a dog is a dog.  Just the other day a woman stopped my husband and I and asked what type of dogs these were.  I told her poodles and she was shocked, she asked if they were show dogs?  I was puzzled about this question.  What would make her think this?  Especially looking at my poodles who do not have a poof on them?  Hmmmm.

I've also been told when asked what I am walking; "they look like normal dogs."  YES, they are and thank you very much.  Surprisingly, poodles are regular dogs with curly hair; yes it's true.  They are amazingly intelligent and insanely fabulous (wink, wink) but they are dogs; just like any other dog, a poodle is a dog.  I ADORE DOGS, can you tell?  The outside is great but the inside is where the great stuff is.  There is where the heart of a canine lives and I for one LOVE them all.