For the Love of (My) Dogs

April is National Dog Appreciation month, but what does it really mean to appreciate dogs? As a dog “mom,” I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the amount of love I have for them. As I sit here staring at my two, geriatric canines snoring the afternoon away, I know that I’ve loved, adored, and cared for them but I haven’t really thought about how to “appreciate” them before now.

Too often, I get caught up in responsibilities and inconveniences and fail to notice the little things about my dogs that make them so lovable. When I observe my five-pound, deaf chihuahua, Simon, and even more deaf Cavalier King Charles, Darcy, it’s difficult because I see things in my aging, furry family members that makes me realize our time together is limited. Their movement is slower, stiffer, and more intentional. They don’t startle from noises, but now bark for seemingly no reason. Simon has taken to using the refrigerator as his urinal because he often can’t make it outside in time. Darcy can’t hear me when I call her to come inside and her shrill bark cuts through the calm of an otherwise quiet neighborhood.

Instead, I try to focus on all the positive things. For instance, Darcy makes the cutest snores when she sleeps. Her soft, wispy hairs make her head feel like velvet and her fuzzy toes look like slippers. Simon actually screams like a chimpanzee when I come home and acts like a pony, prancing sideways when he’s excited. He also still “plays” with the cats, though I’m not certain they understand it as play. They both love to go for walks and sniff every inch of our street, marking their territory along the way, but now they don’t bark at other dogs or attempt to chase squirrels. Lucky squirrels (and neighbors). I’ve gone from having a raucous band of weirdos to having the best-behaved dogs on the block.

The late Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Mary Oliver, was a keen observer and lover of dogs. In her book, Dog Songs, Oliver shared, “Because of the dog’s joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born. What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass? What would this world be like without dogs?”

I, for one, couldn’t imagine a world without dogs, as I have lived with them and loved them all the years of my life. I have been there for adoptions, training, adventures, snuggles, vet visits, surgeries, and goodbyes. My current senior dogs have me wrapped around their little paws. I hope to better appreciate all the things that make them Darcy and Simon, even if it means stocking up on paper towels and floor cleaner. The joy that they bring is no small gift, indeed!

Kristen Zellner owns Abrams & Weakley General Store for Animals, est. 1986, Central PA’s first health food store for pets. She helps customers keep their pets healthy through better nutrition.

By the Book/Michelle Haring