Dogs Along the Way----Physical Therapy

Is there another animal like a dog? I think not. My connection with canines goes back to my first memories. Mr. Krinkles, an English bulldog, was my first dog buddy.  My mom tells me that she caught me in a pantry with a big bag of kibble saying, “One for you, one for me.” That is when it started. I was three. 

There has always been something comforting about a dog. Cats are OK, but expressing emotion is not their strong suit. Exotic pets---(snakes, spiders, lizards, etc) forget it. I don’t want any part of a ‘pet’ that can kill me. Fish? They are for the big stainless fryer. 

 

Truth is, (with the possible exception of cats---OK cats are pretty cool) snakes, fish, hamsters, turtles, lizards, Guiana Pigs, ETC are in the category of pets, but a dog…but a DOG…forget the word ‘pet’. 

The dog has the warmth of a family member. He can smile AT you, talk TO you, play WITH you, and be there FOR you. If you are not a dog person, you won’t get this: There is a magical connection dogs have with humans. It is beyond comprehension and that is what makes it so deep, so meaningful, and so great. I can look into the eyes of a dog I have just met and see an old friend. Somehow he sees it too. 

I have had this connection with dogs for as long as I can remember.  It reminds me many times of the great mystery of life; a deep connection between creatures of incredibly different DNA makeups but somehow the Lord saw fit to allow man and dog to come crashing into each others lives to love and support one another like no other human and animal relationship.  

My dogs provide ‘physical therapy’; that is, the very touch of their fur, the moist lick of their tongues on my wrist, the sound of their groans as they roll over in their sleep, and yes, even their many smells…this beautiful mixture of  the senses…this great connection…it has kept me at peace for many years. 

People ask my advice frequently about matters relating to dogs. I suppose if I could say anything to make a terrific family dog, is it begins with ‘physical therapy’. The same connection I had with Mr. Krinkles in the food pantry is the same connection I have with a brand new foster dog. It is the touch, the sound, the smell, the look…the connection of a man with a dog. Embrace it all. 

 

Oh, and rub their cheeks. It reminds them of their mama.

 

My dad in the mid 1980's with Otto. A weimaraner that wandered up to our farm and stayed. Just another in the long line of lost, drop-offs, and strays that have found a home with my parents. We was one fine farm dog.