The Love of a Dog
Why we’re so blessed by these furry friends
Many of you reading this have had a dog or currently have one. You might even be at home with your dog sitting next to you or laying at your feet. I’ve mentioned my dog in many posts this year, but haven’t dedicated one to Smokey.
Mandy and I got Smokey days before the pandemic hit in March 2020, and lucky for him he accidentally became a quarantine pup. I think it was the best thing that could’ve happened because he’s such a snuggler now after all of the time we got to spend with him during his first year.
The day we brought Smokey home, 2020
I never had a dog growing up, but Mandy had labs during her childhood and I was always around labs. When we talked about getting a dog, we visited a couple of shelters and by chance, ended up looking at 4 different black labs over the course of the weekend. However, it wasn’t until the end of that weekend when I was looking at posts online that I came across this picture of a 6 month old black lab pup who was being rehomed and needed a new home asap. Just 3 days later, Mandy and I met Smokey’s previous family at a park in town and got to know him a little bit before taking him home that night. I’ll never forget the blast of emotions being so excited and also a little nervous about being fully responsible for this little guy that I barely knew.
Fast forward nearly 4 years later, and I wouldn’t trade that decision for anything. Anyone who’s had a dog knows what the love of a dog feels like, but I can’t explain how much Smokey means to me in words. Maybe because he’s my first dog, maybe because he’s been there for so many major life milestones, or maybe because he’s the dog I have in my 20s. Whatever it is, Smokey Bear is the best adventure buddy I could ever ask for.
Since 2020, we’ve driven thousands of miles together, covering 7 states and making so many memories. We’ve gone camping, snowshoeing, visited relatives, spent days at the lake, ran around dozens of parks, and chased thousands of squirrels all over the place. It doesn’t matter what the activity is, as long as I’ve got my buddy with me. It’s crazy how our perspective changed immediately once we got a dog. Mandy and I had been together for a little over 4 years when we got Smokey, and had gotten used to doing the many activities and adventures that we typically did. However, when you add a dog to the mix, you have to look up dog friendly trails, off leash parks, fees for dogs to stay in a hotel, and so many other little factors that you may not consider otherwise. This was one of the best learning opportunities for us at that point in our relationship because it made us think outside of ourselves, and how we could ensure the best experience for all 3 of us, rather than just us two as it always had been. Now that we’ve added baby Aubrey to the mix, I see even more now how valuable it was to “practice” with caring for Smokey.
Although I’ll never get to hear Smokey say words that I can understand, I totally get him and I know he gets me. I never truly understood how a dog was “man’s best friend” until I had one of my own. He automatically became my responsibility, part of my daily routine, my financial obligation, and just part of my regular adventures. I remember being so nervous about him adjusting to his new home on his first night, being alone in a kennel downstairs. Of course here we are now where he sleeps in bed with us or on his bed next to us, and spends his days leisurely sprawled out on the couch. I wouldn’t have it any other way, because he was made to be our pup and we were made to be his parents. I don’t know exactly where he came from, and I may never get another Smokey Bear, but when he entered our lives at 6 months old, I knew he was the most special pup I’d ever met.
It’s been such a special gift getting to see Smokey become a furry brother to baby Aubrey, and how much he loves her so much already. He can’t wait for the day when she can chase him around the house, but for now he’s her protector and is so curious about every noise she makes.
Although the bulk of this post has been about my pup, I encourage you to go give your furry friend a big squeeze, buy them that ridiculous Christmas treat, and love on them all you can. I saw a post one time that said something along the lines of “A dog is just part of your world, but you’re their whole world.” I love this and it’s a great reminder to go an extra block on their morning walk, give an extra treat for being a good boy, or go through Starbucks just to order a pup cup - no shame!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Duncan, Mandy, Aubrey, and Smokey.
My wife and I are on our eighth and ninth dogs...the best two we ever had were both rescues.
The best: Monster the Mighty Moose. 50 percent Rottie (size and facial shape); 25 percent Retriever (sweetness); and 25 percent Terrier (smartness). He came from Newark's Animal Shelter. His favorite thing to do was hop up in the chair we left for him at family dinners at the end of the table, brace his 150 lb. body against an armrest, and gaze around at each of us solemnly in turn. He didn't try to eat food, he just wanted to keep us company. I waited for him to open his mouth and say something wise, but he never did.
His second favorite thing was to introduce himself to people: he would walk behind them, then through their legs from back to front, hold up his head, and you would have to chuckle his chin. After that, he was your friend forever, and he would leap up, plant his forepaws on your shoulders, and give kisses.
He had more personality than many people I knew.
Second was Oscar the Easygoing Blue Dobe, who came from Doberman Rescue Unlimited in New Hampshire. They recommended him to us. He was a "Blue" with uncropped ears, and he was relaxed with everyone: people, cats, other dogs. His favorite thing was to go into the backyard at night and find a possum. He would pick up the possum in his mouth and the possum would "play possum." Then Oscar would carry it over to us in the yard, place it at our feet....and start washing it with his tongue. It was his "pet possum."
Third best is one we have now....Bodhi Bodacious, a Mass of Hot Air and Love. He's a brindle Preso Canarias-Pitbull cross, with a white sugar streak down his nose and a white triangle on the back of his neck, which points forward. You always know where he's going. He plays with his BFF, Gemma Gen the Mass of Chaos and Sweetness, a pure-bred South African Boerboel (Mastiff), runs around the yard, and snoozes with her, but his favorite thing is to come up to his favorite humans and give them kisses.
Let's not forget Leah the Wonder Dog, a pure-bred black Dobie who made history as the first dog to fly directly from the US to New Zealand, where she became a national scandal...a Dobie with cropped ears and no tail in a nation where both steps are illegal. The South Island Doberman Society was going to take us to court, which was funny, as my wife was a field inspector for the RSPCA.
So we drove out to a South Island Doberman Society Ribbon Parade (a fancy name for a picnic), in the RSPCA van. My wife was the duty inspector that weekend. That meant free transportation and petrol, but we would have to get up at 1 a.m. to uplift a dog if necessary.
When the club saw us approaching in the white van, they wondered what was going on, as they were law-abiding Dobie owners. We opened the side door, and our New Zealand adopted farm dog bounced out, Emma the Blunder Dog. She was a brindle who had trouble with people, a broken tooth, but a sweet demeanor. She and Leah were best friends. Emma shot off towards the club's Dobies, clearly thinking "Oh, boy, 10 Leahs!" Then she stopped, clearly thinking, "Wait. There's only one Leah." Then she ran on, thinking, "Oh, who cares? I'll play with them anyway!"
Then Leah gracefully leaped out of the van, and the entire club leaped up from their picnic tables, yelling, "That's him! That's her! That's it! That's the dog!"
A tiny Scottish woman named Terry strode over to us with the ferocity of the 95th Highlanders in the Crimea, pointed at Leah, and asked, "Where did you get that dog?"
My wife answered, "From a breeder in Pennsylvania."
Terry gasped. "YOU'RE YANKS! How did you get that dog through the six-month quarantine in Hawaii?"
My wife said, "Well, it isn't there any more....now it's 30 days in quarantine in Auckland."
They were delighted. Now they could import dogs from America. In seconds, they handed my wife an application form to join the club. After Leah was in, my wife said, "Great. Leah is excellent at obedience. Can we enter the next contest?"
Faces fell. No. She had cropped ears. But while we didn't get into agility events, our two dogs had a good time at the Ribbon Parade, we had good food, and Terry became one of our best friends, visiting us regularly with her two Dobies.
Very sweet! Love that dude!