Things I Have Learned from My Dog

With beagles, every day is the best day ever. It was something I read. There is something about the breed. They always seem positive. I noticed that with my dog.  

When I first met him he just came up and leaned on me. There was an instant connection. We didn’t even look at another dog at the shelter that day. There is such a thing as love at first sight, even with animals. 

Get up every morning and go outside. There are days I wouldn’t have gone outside at all if it wasn’t for my dog. Whether it be because of the weather, workload, school work, anxiety, stress or just plain old depression my dogs needs trumped in and I would have to take a walk with him. A walk a day never hurt anyone. 

Go home once in a while. My dog kept my wife and I grounded. My dog gave me a good excuse and good reason to break up my day and not be out of the house for 18 hours at a time. Spending 18 hours away from home is never appropriate, no one can hold pee in that long. 

Me coming home is part of the best day ever. Whether I be gone for fifteen minutes or three months, there is something about the celebration of coming home that is heartwarming. My dog’s intense tail wag and the spark in his eye was a celebration of making everything whole again. Greet your loved ones tail wagging ready to kiss if appropriate. 

My dog could stretch out or compress to take advantage of all of the comfort something had to offer. He could take up all of a couch or curl to fit a pinto bean sized space on a pillow. Be able to take advantage of as much anything might be able to offer. 

My dog has taught me to be kind to animals. I think animals think and feel. Maybe they don’t do it in the same way people do, but they certainly do. I was a rabid hunter and perhaps might have been a little too harsh to animals. My dog has made me change my ways. My relationship with a dog has not made me vegetarian. It has made me care about the animals whose lives are taken to feed me. If I choose to take an animals life, I do it with all the honor and care due to the respective animal. 

Every day is the best day ever but today was the worst day ever. Today is the first day without our beagle.