Just a Dog?

The following is something that I got in an email from a good friend of mine, who is also a dog trainer, and dog lover. So many people think this way, and it makes me sick. Ive always felt like the weirdo or the crazy person because of my views and how Ive felt about these furry litle creatures that I spend so much of my life with, worrying about, and loving. Through things like my job, agility competition and shows, Ive found that, atlast, IM NOT ALONE. There are THOUSANDS and thousands of people who think and feel the same way that I do. Sure, everyone still retains their own feelings and beliefs about what way is the BEST way, but it all boils down to the same root principle. We ALL love our dogs. We ALL realize that there will always be people who come and go in our lives, but those people often have agendas, limits on their own love, and their own lives. Of course dogs dont purely exist to fill some type of need, or in some cases void, in our very human lives...on the contrary. Dogs are very much still wolves who are as opportunistic and selfish as ever. But beyond what is instinctual, dogs have the WONDERFUL ability to not only forgive the fact that we are human, and forgive that as such, we have short comings and make mistakes, but they also have the blissfull ability to ignore that fact all together. They let us be, and they love us none the less. They, unlike almost every single human being on this planet, have no motives, prejudices, or limits on their love. They just have purely unconditional, unfallable, undeniable love for us...and they (again, unlike people) ask for VERY little in return...
So the next time your about to tell someone, or think to yourself "ITS JUST A DOG", then I hope that you remember the following message, and try to remember that to YOU its just a dog, but to thet person it could very well be their reason for living. And if youre on the RECEIVING end of this comment, also remember what youve read here...remember that youre not alone, and remember that they usually have "just a small mind..."

"Just a dog? From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a dog," or, "that's a lot of money for just a dog." They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a dog." Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog." Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog," but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog," and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day. If you, too, think it's "just a dog," then you will probably understand phrases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just a promise." "Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that makes people better people. Because of "just a dog" I will rise early, take long walks and appreciate the simple things. So for me and people like me, it's not "just a dog" but an embodiment of hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. "Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day. I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a dog" but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a woman." So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog." just smile, because they "just don't understand."