Man’s Best Friend

I mentioned to Gayle that it’s interesting to me how important dogs are to men. Women don’t seem to make that strong connection to a dog that a man does. And it seems to be universal. I had a woman tell me that she doesn’t trust a man who doesn’t own a dog.  I thought that was interesting.  Here in Quincy, everyone has a dog or several dogs.  Most of the cars in town have a dog; some of them sitting like a human in the passenger seat.

I’m convinced some dogs think they are human. And some owners, like me, forget that their dog is not human.  It’s typical to become anthropomorphic the more you interact with your dog.  I always forget that Dakota is just a dog. He’s more of a furry son with four legs. He’s so smart that we can’t even spell certain words. The little sucker has learned to spell and immediately gets excited to go for a walk, even if you spell the word “w-a-l-k.”   

My observation of men and their dogs led to a discussion with Gayle as to “why” the bond between man and dog.  It was interesting that Gayle immediately began to verbalize her opinion, which is one that I too had considered.  It’s a touchy subject and if your wife isn’t trained to “sit” and “stay,” you may not want to bring it up.

In Gayle’s mind, “men love dogs because dogs are what their wives are not.”  Did I hear that right? Yep.  I heard it right from Gayle’s own mouth.  And it’s true.

Dogs are obedient, appreciative, loyal, loving, easily trained, and they don’t talk. They are always glad to see their master. Our dogs worship us. When given a treat, dogs love us for it. Gayle didn’t say this stuff.  I did.

You never have to repeat the redemptive phrase, “It’s my fault” in order to keep the peace with your dog.  I’ve been tempted to print a sign that says exactly that and simply hold it up even before I try to load the dishwasher “the right way.”  It reminds me of a country western song, “It’s hard to kiss the lips at night that chewed your ass all day.”  But you’ll never have that concern with a dog. As I said, dogs don’t talk.

Our dogs lie at our feet and lick our hand. They always want to be with us and want to go where we go. And it doesn’t take them an hour to get ready to go, either.  Their disposition never changes. They wag their tails at us, like our wives used to.

Is it really any wonder why a dog is man’s best friend?

P. S. – I ran this piece by Gayle before posting it and she liked it.  I may be dumb, but I’m not stupid.