What Is It About Dogs?

This is the first time I have brought one of my dogs to the beach for the winter. Well, there was the case of Rucker, but that was short-lived after, as a young dog, he ate one of the palm trees. That was the exception. Since then I’ve left him in the care of the pet nanny at Potlatch during my absence.

This year I brought Shelby, the newest canine in the family. She is a young Lab, and she has been an absolute delight, adapting to the four-story condominium as if she had always been a “house” dog. For exercise, she gets to visit friends with big yards, dog parks, and trips to the beach. That’s one of the attractions of Labs as companions; they are great, active outside dogs, but can easily be house dogs, too. They simply want to be with you.

My experience with Shelby so far this winter has gotten me thinking about what it is about dogs that makes us feel better about life. It’s at this point in such discussions that people without dogs tune out, but dog owners know exactly what I’m talking about. None of us knows the answer.

In trying to answer the question about why we have dogs we usually come up with all the obvious reasons such as loyalty and companionship. While these observations ring true, there is, in my opinion, something more intangible and inexplicable about the role of dogs in our lives. So much about dogs is unknown to us and remains beyond our ability to express.

My guess is that the answer lies somewhere in the role that we see dogs play for people in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Presumably, many of us have read about or witnessed the therapeutic effect that dogs have on people in such places. Of course therapy dogs bring love and joy to these people, wagging their tails and licking hands. Many residents have terminal maladies or permanent frailties and face monotonous and bleak lives. Dogs, I believe, help them restore their identity and worth as human beings and escape the gloom of their lives. Dogs don’t make distinctions; they do, however momentarily, help people regain their self-esteem. Dogs offer a new reality in the present that brings respect without demands or stress. Dogs settle things down.

This winter Shelby has done many of these things for me, even though I am fortunate to be living an active and interesting life. This morning it is cold here with rain, the kind of day we call “yucky” or depressing. Shelby is everywhere, lying in front of the fire, sleeping on her bed, saying hello with her wet nose, or sleeping by my chair as I write these words. I talk to her and she listens, she doesn’t judge me, and she makes no demands on me. Dogs live simply and demonstrate the importance of life’s fundamentals over everything else. They help us see what is important in life