Sometimes, I tend to get so caught up in my own personal life that I forget about my dog.
I walk out of the front door some days and feel guilty, even if I’m just leaving for a short time. Why? Because of the realistic and famous quote “You have your friends, your social life, your family… And your dog has you and only you.”
Heard it before? I’m sure you have. It’s very true.
We get so caught up in our lives we tend to neglect and forget how much love and attention our dog really needs and deserves. Dogs don’t have as interesting lives as we do. They sleep most of the day away, are constantly being told what to do, are constantly being scolded, and are told when they are allowed to go to the bathroom and eat. We, their owners, are all our dogs have. They love us, depend on us, and are loyal towards us no matter how many times we let them down. But I’m sure by now you’re wondering where I’m going with this. As you know my methods of writing, I’m going to start this with my own little story.
My dog, Sam, is my best friend.
When I was a year old, my mother put me in a little container filled with newborn puppies. They were brothers and sisters of a mixed breed called Australian Silky Blue Terriers. I may have been young, but somehow I still remember holding all the puppies. My mother would bring me into pet stores just for fun, because I enjoyed it of course. What she didn’t know is we would end up bringing one of those puppies home. As the little pups jumped on me and licked my face, I took turns holding each and every one of them. One of the puppies, though, was smaller than the others, and would whimper and whine every time I sat him down. The other puppies would just run around and play with their brothers and sisters, while this one in particular didn’t seem to have any interest in them. My mother realized I’d soon grown a companionship with this pup, and we took him home. He was so so small, so dark blue, and so calm that on the way home he sat on my lap while I was in the car seat. This was when I lived in Iowa. When I was 2 years old, we moved to Michigan and my one-year old pup came with. Every night, he slept with me. He kept me company, and never bit me or scratched me. If by chance he bit me and thought he hurt me, he would lick my hand instantly reassuring me he didn’t mean any harm. Three years after, when I was five, we moved to Nebraska.
It was never easy for my family. It was never easy for my dog. We moved so often, and he truly endured a lot. When I was about 9, he saved me once so I’d like to think. Both my mom and I, actually. We were being robbed one night and couldn’t figure out why Sam had been staring at the wall breaking for so long until we got up and looked outside the window to see two men stealing things from people’s yards and walking around their houses. It was our home’s turn to be robbed by the men, and since Sam woke up and began to bark, we woke up in time to call the police and have the men arrested and the items returned to ourselves and our neighbors. I guess you could say he was my hero that night and every night after. I didn’t realize it, but he was my hero from the very start.
Sam would lay on my tummy when I was sick. One year, I went to the hospital. When I came home, he slept on top of me every day until he could tell I was better again. He refused to leave my side. Sam had many drawings of him that I’d made as a child, and he was included in EVERYTHING. We celebrated his birthday, took him inside stores as often as we possibly could, and every day at some point I would walk past a clay mural I’d made of our old Iowa home. I’d sculpted a small colorful blue Sam in front of the house. I guess that tells you how much he means to me. Sam loves carrots, and refuses to eat lettuce or pretzels. He likes to sleep under the clothes in the closet, I’m assuming because it’s warm and dark. One time, Sam ate an entire pizza when I was asleep and I thought it was so funny I wasn’t even mad at him. I couldn’t be. One weekend we lost him in a snowstorm, and couldn’t find him for three days. Our new neighbors has no idea he was our dog, and after calling around and putting signs up everywhere, we were reunited. He was also accidentally given to the pound one day by a family member and was adopted by another family. We had no idea because that family member was watching him while we moved. We found out a week later, and luckily, we fought for him and got him back. There were so many times it seems we could have lost him. God never allowed that, though. He couldn’t separate us.
We moved many, many times, like I said. When I was 14, we moved to Kansas. Sam had to endure trying to be around four cats for some time, which wasn’t easy for him at all. His entire life, he had only been taught to scare other animals away. He didn’t quite get the memo about cats. Sam, at this time, was 13. He was healthy, and he was heavily loved. I began working, though, at this age. It didn’t occur to me that for the first time in Sam’s 13 years, he had to learn how to be home alone most days. It was hard coming home at 3:30 after school just to let him out, and saying goodbye to him again at 4. He was alone all day with nobody to play with, and nobody to love. I didn’t notice it at the time, but it kills me now every day knowing how much time I lost with him back then as he grew old and elderly.
This year, I am 18. My 17-year-old dog still sleeps next to me every night, does hot laps when he’s excited, begs for carrots, hates baths, licks me after he accidentally bites me too hard, and sleeps on my tummy when I’m sick. He doesn’t obviously realize how much he’s grown, but I don’t mind one bit.
Two weeks ago, when we were feeding Sam carrots, he yelped. We didn’t think much of it, and assumed he must’ve just swallowed it painfully somehow. Throughout a couple more days, he continued to yelp every time he ate food. It was probably time to take him to the vet to see what was wrong with him. So we did, and they asked us to allow him to stay overnight so they could see what needed to be done. All they told us was that he may need surgery. For the first time, my mom warned me that it may be his time to go. As I left the vet, I nearly cried the entire way home. Sam had never been without us in a place filled with so many other animals. I couldn’t help but think about how scared he was. I was more scared, though. I was terrified of losing my best friend, the only thing that was really stable in my life with all the moving. I had endured many losses throughout my life and they were all bearable, but I couldn't bear to lose Sam. I couldn’t even think about it with tearing up. Even writing this makes me tear up. But I need to stay strong no matter what the situation with him was going to be, because he would need me to. We had decided if for any reason it was his time to go, we would take him home and he’d spend his last days with us regardless, because we knew that that’s what he would want.
We got a call the next day, so we went to go pick him up. Since he was aging, some of his teeth had fallen out during a teeth cleaning. Three of them, in fact. But luckily, the vet told us that our little dog could live to be up to 22, if not longer. This to us was a miracle to hear. I couldn’t imagine living 21 years with such an amazing partner by my side, and it’s every person’s dream to endure as much of their life with their best friend. Their soulmate. It just so happened to turn out that my dog was my soulmate all along. I was blessed so far with 17 years, and have lately been terrified that something may happen to him while I’m away at college. Knowing, though, that he may make it through my college years was the best news I could have ever heard.
It didn’t hit me how old he was when the vet told me he needed softer food, and it didn’t hit me how old he was when they told me he has about 5 years left to live. It hit me when I gave him a bath later that night, and saw his hip bones and spine more visually through his fur than i’ve ever seen it before. It hit me then. But that won’t make me love him any less, in fact it’ll make me love him even more. But if I could go back in time, I would have certainly spent more time with him.
A longer story than usual, but I have no apologies for you. My point from all of this, is for all of you with a dog, do him/her a favor and make sure you’re giving the time to them they deserve. Make sure you give them the life they deserve. Love them like they love you. Before you know it, they’ll be gone and if you’re anything like me, imagining your life without them is crazy impossible.
My dog is my best friend.
He licked me when I cried, laid by me when I was tired, sat on my tummy when I was sick, and smiled with me when I was happy. As a dog, they can’t understand us, but they understand our emotions. They know how much we love them. But they may not understand that it can be hard for us to show it sometimes, so many sure you’re letting them know their importance in your life. They won’t understand every reason we scold them, in fact, they may not be able to help it sometimes and have no way of telling us. For the longest time, I’d get annoyed at my dog for constantly licking his lips and making slurping sounds. I didn't realize it was because his teeth were in pain, though, and it makes me feel awful. We live and learn, and sometimes we learn too late. All dogs deserve so much more than what they get, and again. We may have our lives, our friends, our jobs… we have many things to take care of in our lives and to deal with everyday. My dog only has me. Your dog only has you. Be patient, be kind, and don’t wait until it’s too late to spend time with your dog. One of the greatest things I’ve learned, or I should say one of the greatest things my dog taught me, is regardless of age, he will always love me. Even though he’s old, he knows I’ll never give up on him, and I’ll never be able to replace him. His age gives me the opportunity to value our time together more than I did in the past.
If you have a dog, they are a blessing. Not a nuisance. They are your friend, your companion… Not just an animal. Do you get caught up in your life and forget about how much they need you like I did? Take many pictures with them, spoil them, take them on car rides, and let them lay on the bed with you. That is the absolute least your furry friend deserves. As for my dog and I, well, all I can say is that I’m not sorry for the many photos of us that you may see on my social media accounts. At the moment, I hear my dog, my puppy that I chose 17 years ago, jumping up on the couch with my mom to join her for a nap. My job is cool. My education is important. My social life is exciting. But my dog? He’s the best thing I have to brag about.
