dog
It's no coincidence that a dog is a man's best friend; they're more faithful than most other animals, and more faithful than many people.
A Girl's Best Friend
Can a dog save your life? The answer is one trillion times yes. No, I wasn’t in real danger. I wasn’t suicidal or having a medical need, though dogs can certainly help with both of those. I was just existing. Boring. Lonely. There. Going through the motions of life and hoping for a miracle.
Meghan ThewPublished 2 years ago in PetlifeLadybug the Pitbull
I first met Ladybug back in the late 1980s. I don't have any photos of her, although I wish I did. Back then we didn't have smartphones, computers, or any of that stuff. Taking photos or making videos wasn't even a thought.
Joseph DuncanPublished 2 years ago in PetlifeRosey
I didn’t know if I was ready for a new dog. Whilst the gaping hole in my heart and in my house was noticeable, the lack of noise palpable, I still wasn’t sure. That is, until Rosey.
Rachael MacDonaldPublished 2 years ago in PetlifeThe Hero
“Your lick on my cheek, solace for my heart.” I walked out curiously looking for the cute bark and there was he; scuffling through a piece of cloth under the drying wire. I went closer and took away the cloth.
Aswin AlexPublished 2 years ago in Petlife- Runner-Up in 24/7 Companion Challenge
Where the Path Ends
The big oak tree marks a half mile from our house. To get to it you must pass our neighbors house with their barking dogs and wandering sheep that have a tendency to escape here and there. The road is potholed and muddy every time the seasons change. The holes in the gravel create small lakes changing our walks navigation after it rains. We are surrounded by farm fields outlining the path to the tree. In the summer the fields are drawn by the sun creating a scenic dream. Leading to a path where the creek meets the fields end. To my mom and I, this walk was a time to recalibrate, or something we had to do so you would get your exercise. However, to you this walk was your lifeline and to you this path is what we remember you by.
Rilee AreyPublished 2 years ago in Petlife My Goose Caboose
I remember the evening she came into this world. My father's dog was heavily pregnant and had been pacing and panting for most of the afternoon. We knew she was going to have her puppies soon, though we hadn't expected her to start having them right on my younger sister's lap. The eight year old had been running her hand through the course black fur of the shepherd/lab mutt, when suddenly a mortified look crossed her face; “She peed on me!” Was the screech of indignation. But when Tally stood up, rather than a puddle of pee, there was a small squirming mass still in its birthing sac. A thick boy that would fondly be named Fat Cheese (a name that his future owners would thankfully change). The rest of the evening was a blurred memory of excitement, and by morning our house had twelve new lives in it; eight males and four females.
Tianna SteinmanPublished 2 years ago in PetlifeZeida
We walked into the shelter looking for a chihuahua-terrier mix named Tinkerbell. My mom had fallen in love with her over PetFinder in an instant. Tinkerbell met every prerequisite that my mom had laid out for their next dog. She was small (more specifically, she was lap-sized), she was already an adult (so my parents got to bypass the puppy stage), and the shelter had listed her as friendly and affectionate (the perfect combination of traits for a mother currently empty nesting).
Left Behind
Jennifer Hayes’ voice harmonized with the young host of Utah’s Public Radio. Atop the wooden box bed, layers of padding and blankets stacked midway up the passenger window where Lacy slept soundly, swayed by Goblin Valley road. Deep shadows caught in the crevasses of the hoodoo towers, the late summer sun spreading across the red desert, seductive as a house cat on a leather couch. It was four in the afternoon. Jennifer is an underwater ice photographer, speaking on her expedition to the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the 2014 Harp Seal pup season. The radio wavered. She had set out to capture the behaviors of Harp Seals in adolescence. When Jennifer and her team arrived in February, the pups were still so young they were not yet swimming for regular periods of time. Puffs of white fur waited along the edges of ice for their mothers to buoy up and touch noses in familial recognition. She took snap shots from below of their black noses and long whiskers dipped into the water, just four degrees above freezing. Jennifer dove down and back up, coming face to face with a young seal. She at once registered the pup’s confusion and curiosity at this new creature appearing where their mother usually would. Their true mother gracefully floated up beside Jennifer, touched noses with the pup, fastidiously looked them over to ensure the stranger had done no harm, and they left together under the ice. Jennifer swam behind the two, clicking her camera clumsily with thick gloves. Following the pair, she attracted the attention of a nearby male seal who bullied Jennifer away from his potential mate. The mother seal attacked the male offender. Jennifer and the pup floated together, watching from above as the mother banished him. Jennifer stayed swimming behind the two until the mother decided it was no longer worth the risk for them to be in the water. She nudged her pup back towards the ice, then Jennifer, then the pup, guiding them both to safety. That night, as Jennifer’s human team packed their gear to leave, a storm came in. Winds whirling, they made it back to shore. They tossed their gear off the boat as fast as they could when, Jennifer's guide came to her, “All the ice is gone. The Seals are gone.” She knew this did not mean the ice was gone, so the seals would move on to a new home. It meant the storm broke the ice up into shards, whipping the blades around in the winds and tides to blend the pups into the sea water. “What do you mean the ice is gone?” The grief was too much to comprehend. Eighty percent of the colony was lost that season. I reached my right hand behind the head of the passenger seat to pet Lacey, dazed by the passing red land, a stark contrast to the icy world being told to us over the radio. My fingers twisted through the longer white fur of her collar in soothing circles, she sighed. Her black ears hung low on her head, UPR was doing a fundraiser for the sound technician’s 61st birthday, matching every 61 dollars donated that day.
Angela MichellePublished 2 years ago in PetlifeWoman's Best Friend
I’ve never felt more loved by anyone than I am by my dogs. We got my current puppy, Rocky (as in Balboa, from my mom’s favorite movies growing up), shortly after we had to put down our last dog in February. He is often very stubborn. Sometimes, he refuses to listen to commands, or doesn’t come when he’s called. However, he is still very attached to us and gets very excited whenever my family and I return from work or school. He loves all of my family members and has a different way to greet all of us. For me, Rocky always runs circles around the room until I pick him up, and then he gives me lots of licks on my hands and cheeks. My brother always walks in to see the puppy rolled over on his back, wriggling around and begging for belly rubs. When my mom comes home from work, Rocky runs up and down the stairs and wags his tail, barking and whimpering excitedly to show her that he missed her very much.
Brenna WilliamsPublished 2 years ago in PetlifeSaving Wu
I have a nine-year-old pit bull named Wu. She is the best friend anyone could ever ask for and the goodest girl. Wu is dying of a brain tumor. She was diagnosed about eighteen months ago, and there is not much we can do other than keep her comfortable and give her the best life for however long she has left. We are coming to the end of her expected time left, and it won’t be too much longer before we need to make some tough decisions. Although the day will come sooner rather than later, we aren’t there yet. For now, we are loving on her and laughing at her antics. So in celebration of my goodest girl, Wu, I will regal you with my favorite memory; how she came to live with me.
One Last Day
Growing up, I had a human brother and a canine sister. Our parents picked out a Shih Tzu puppy for us, as a means to learn responsibility, when I was only five.
Zack DuncanPublished 2 years ago in PetlifeMotherly Dog
Lin, she connected entire family. She was brought home by my mother for my 20th birthday, she worried about me because I said “I don’t feel I can have any animals if I lose Ken and Taro,” Ken and Taro are my first dogs that I grow up with like siblings.
Mari MorimotoPublished 2 years ago in Petlife