Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

To us, dogs are not just animals or pets. They are our children, humans, one of us. When a dog is brought into a home, they are treated like family. They need love and attention. They drive us crazy at times, but make our hearts melt by the end of the day. We not only love the ones we treat as family but we love each one we see on the street. We may run towards them and ask their owners if we can pet them. We most likely will make a fool out of ourselves, but do we care? No, because DOGS.

Dogs come in all colors and sizes but they manage to steal our hearts each and every time. Although there are times our dogs drive us crazy, we still would do anything for them as if they are our own children. Even when they tear apart their toys and leave the stuffing everywhere. Even when they get into the garbage can and pull out, what looks like, last night’s dinner. Even when they drink out of the toilet. Even when they kill that innocent bunny. Even when they pee on the carpet while looking right at us. Even when they are staring at us as we try to enjoy that huge bowl of ice cream. We know the minute they look at us or come cuddling up to us, that frustration will disappear in a second and it is like they never did anything bad to begin with.

As dog lovers, we understand what it means to grow up with a dog. Many grow up with a dog and lean on them when they don’t want to be around anyone else. We live to tell stories about our childhood dogs that grew up with us, saved us, and loved us. We feel this unconditional love from a pet that is shared with no judgement. Dogs fill a spot in our hearts that they hold on to even after they leave us. Once you are a dog lover, you will always be a dog lover. You carry this on as you get dogs for yourself and for your future family so you can share that love with your loved ones.

The worst part for us and any pet owner really is when we have to let go. The hardest thing is to look into your dog’s eyes and know that their time's coming to end. That you have to make that decision to end their suffering. That you have to lose a friend you have come to know. You only get so much time with them and you don’t want to let go. But to a dog, you can change their whole life with love. And they change yours forever too without even knowing it.

But we love them, these furry little creatures. We understand that they deserve the best. We understand that they deserve a home that is safe and they can be loved in. We will take all the bad with the good and love them until the very end. We will play catch with them, probably talk to them, teach them tricks, watch movies with them, and occasionally give them some of our food even though we shouldn’t. And it is a bonus that they are so damn cute. It is definitely okay to want to own all the dogs in the world, because I sure do. It is totally acceptable to want to free all the sad dogs in cages as well…. So here’s to sharing popsicles and watching Netflix with a little, furry, puppy-eyed companion right next to you.

Yours Truly,