There are two things we don’t deserve in this world: Dogs and Dolly Parton. Both are full of love, kindness and a giving spirit. Since I don’t know Dolly personally, I will focus on dogs.
I have had dogs pretty much my whole life. We got our first dog when I was five and my sister was a baby. Fifi was a toy poodle and lived for 17 years. When she finally said goodbye, I just remember thinking, “We had Fifi as long as we have had Jaime. This is weird and very sad.” Truth be told, Fifi was much more agreeable than Jaime, despite her propensity to roll in cow shit right after getting groomed—Fifi, not Jaime.
When I got married, my husband and I immediately got a dog. No one loves dogs more than Brett. It is one of the big reasons I knew he was a keeper. Dogs love him, too. I have never seen a dog that does not love my husband. Well, there was the time when we lived in Japan and the neighbor’s dog bit him. I think it was a language barrier thing. The dog was Japanese, after all, and my husband is a big burly American. I’m sure it was Brett’s fault. They later became friends.
Janis and Arlo were our first two dogs. Yes, they were named after Janis Joplin and Arlo Guthrie. Janis was a bad ass frisbee dog. She would catch that thing till her gums bled and we made her stop. She was also smarter than a good chunk of the people I have met in my life. You could just see in her eyes that our stupidity frustrated her. Arlo was scared of his own shadow, but he was my sweet boy. When Brett was traveling for work, he would spoon with me in bed. He liked his head on the pillow and the blanket tucked under his chin. They both lived to be 15 and were the light of our lives.
Lilly came along somewhere in there. She found us. We secured her a good home twice, but things didn’t work out. We ended up keeping her. Had we known, we would have called her boomerang. Also, we love the name Lilly and could no longer name a kid that. Alas…
Lilly was with us for 14 years. There was not a more patient soul on the planet. I once saw baby Josie pry a piece of kibble out of Lilly’s mouth and eat it. Lilly just had a look on her face that said, “Are you fucking kidding me? This is what you brought home?”
Then came Cootie. We did not name him. Cootie was my husband’s boy for nearly 15 years. He came along as Brett decided to take up bird hunting and was a big, scruffy oaf. He was a puppy as Josie was a toddler and for a couple of years it was like having two kids. Cootie just wanted Josie to love him and play. Josie was constantly annoyed by his affections. Then one day she practically rode him through the living room and they were best friends. That dog would have taken a bullet for Josie. He guarded her and protected her on every hike through the woods. Oh, Cootie also smiled. He would curl his top lip when we got home and wag his tail so hard it almost flew off his ass. It was hilarious.
We now have two girls, Hazel and Mavis. They are brilliant. Hazel is very serious. She knows when I’m depressed or anxious and is always ready to put her head in my lap for emotional support. She is also a good bird dog. Mavis should be, but she is just an ass. I say that with love. She is sweet, silly, entertaining AF and her tail is always wagging happily. However, she is our first counter surfer and is always into something. Most recently it was an entire stick of butter. They are both incredibly cuddly and even at 45 pounds each, they sleep with us. I would not have it any other way.
Dogs. We don’t deserve them, but I couldn’t live without them. They know when you need them and are always on hand to offer up love. They never fail to be happy to see you. They give so much and ask for very little in return. I have honestly never met a dog that I didn’t want to pet.
