To Own a Dog is to Know Love

There’s nothing comparable to the bond of a human and a canine companion. Felines are okay, but there’s just something about overly-excited tail wagging and super slobbery kisses that makes you feel right at home.

If you’ve been lucky enough to have a dog as your best friend, I have no doubt you’ve experienced true loyalty and unconditional love. I am who I am today because of the furry best friends I’ve been blessed to cherish over the years.

To have a dog by your side throughout life is an adventure in all of its entirety. The older you become you realize that your very best friends have always been your dogs throughout different stages. They’ve always loved you and never judged you, even when you forgot about them for a while. Dogs are the definition of trust, protection and love. They can sense the morality of a person, and even the state of physical and mental illness; to which they respond with an unspoken understanding and comfort.

If your heart will open enough to allow it your dog will always be there to take you on adventures in rediscovery, unconditional love, and gratitude that you will never forget. For me, these adventures helped me to build a foundation of life in empathy and compassion for others, and most importantly myself. When you truly love yourself your cup will soon “runneth” over allowing you to share your love and inspire others to do the same.

A time not too long ago I remember feeling like no one understood me or knew of my hidden pain. I was in a deep depression and would put on a mask at school to pretend my home life could actually be considered any form of a “home.” As an adult I realize I made it through most of my toughest days in survival mode because of my canine best friends were by side.

Home actually did exist in my soul and it was my understanding and acceptance of love from my biggest fans and greatest admirers, my dogs. During my hardest times in life it was always my dogs that have been my rock, confidant, and open-door to overcoming the struggles.

My first best furry friend was Fawnzie, a fawn Chihuahua. He was always there when I didn’t know how to be. He would always jump on my legs with enthusiasm forcing me to smile and feel loved. Sometimes he would lay on my lap and help me to see the love and compassion of moments instead of the fear and anger from uncertainties. He always knew when things weren’t right, even when I didn’t and would bring a warm vibe within the chaos. He was like the guardian angel of my childhood.

Once my hand would stroke the top of his soft little coarse-haired apple head between his perky ears it was like the weight and stress of survival mode would begin to fade. Coincidentally, I’d feel the love I was lacking from my guardians and understand it was temporary, but necessary in my upcoming. I’d hug Fawnzie tighter and feel the hope and inspiration for the better days ahead. Days that were normal and sometimes hard, but no longer a battlefield of longing to accepted and properly loved. Having the unconditional love of my dogs has continued to escort me through life’s daunting tasks and never-ending challenges. It has taught me to love others as well as myself because I am enough and capable of whatever might cross my path.

Eventually, it would become Fawnzie’s time to transcend and pass the baton to the next dog chosen as my furry Sherpa of faith and loyalty. Puggy, the chunky runt puppy of a Pug litter would become my next love and fulfill the role in the unbreakable legacy of connection between human and man’s best friend.

During my teenage years circumstances had taken a whole new route with different challenges and feats. Feelings of inadequacy resurfaced again stemming from unfinished and misunderstood business from previous heartaches. Lost friendships, tainted relationships, and failures would provide Puggy with all she needed to train me further into who I will become.

I remember distinctively, on some of my lowest days, Puggy would lick the tears of sorrow from my cheeks as I would sit with my pain to process it. In my toughest battles with depression I wouldn’t have made it without her and the late Fawnzie’s unconditional love and guidance throughout the years.

Eventually, I found out Puggy was blind, deaf, and epileptic. It shattered my entire heart at first, but then I realized how lucky I was to be able to give this beautiful and selfless soul the best life I could. I was capable and equipped to love her wholly, to provide and process her needs accurately. There was the confidence I lacked as a child, showing up front and center when it was needed most.

For 10 of the best years she was my very best friend and I hers. Her ailments were nothing but circumstantial because we were inseparable. She would go everywhere with me. I would throw her birthday parties and invite some of our closest friends, some furry and then some not so furry too. She brought so much love to my life and everyone that met her. She was so smart and funny.

Puggy hated pickles and at times I would chase her around the house with one and even being a mute, she still had better senses than I did. She would tuck in her tail and get the “zoomies.” She was a fawn chunk of coarse hair with 2x the shedding power than most pooches, which meant she left her mark everywhere she went. One of the funniest things to see her do was scratch her back, right above her curled up cinnamon roll-shaped tail on the underneath of recliners and chairs, and even peoples’ feet if they’re legs were crossed exposing the perfect height for a good back scratching.

She loved ice cream and soft peppermints, but still somehow managed to have the smelliest breath I’ve ever smelt. I couldn’t love this dog any more than I did (and still do to this day,) she was so special. She played a key role in my life. She loved everyone, which taught me to do the same, including myself. She made me believe and see I was capable of loving and nurturing others. I was reliable and worthy of responsibilities. She would soon become a big furry sister and I would become the mother of a beautiful doting baby girl.

Puggy loved baby Fallon and had an immediate sense of protection over her. Our already priceless bond deepens to its fullest potential. To watch the ones we love the most love one another is the most rewarding adventure life can offer. We continued our adventure of love together as a family of three for a few more years, until one day Puggy’s health had reached its peak and began to decline. Eventually, she had grown cancerous tumors that couldn’t be corrected and at that point life had caused her more pain to continue living with us than to be peacefully resting with Fawnzie. I had to make the hardest decision of my life and that was to put her down. She taught me how to cherish all of life’s challenges and adventures, and to face them head on!

After her passing I couldn’t fathom the thought of having another dog. No one would ever be able to replace Puggy, my furry baby and best friend. After sitting with my pain and processing it for a few years I realized that this is not for which I was trained. Fawnzie and Puggy would soon send another love to our family, not as a replacement, but as merely the next step in the adventures of unconditional love and life’s appreciation.

The legacy Puggy continued for Fawnzie is now being carried on by a tart and beautiful muscular mutt named Priscillia. She is a mix of Boston Terrier and French Bulldog. Priscillia makes us laugh, love deeply, and become inspired every day! I’m so thankful to get to cherish and bond with her, but most of all to witness the inseparable bond she is building with Fallon. I’m grateful for the lessons we’ve already learned with Priscillia and excited for what the future holds.

Life’s always an adventure when sharing it with a furry best friend. Dogs are a true legacy of loyalty and love.