[Britster]

Originally Posted by gemy

I've been on this forum for awhile. Read so many heart touching and heart wrenching posts, of love and loss, of dogs showing in so many ways their devotion to us, of human devotion to dogs.

The saddest thing for me is, that so many others, you know those ones in the "general" non dog public, just simply have no clue, no idea. I truly don't know how they think about "pets".

They simply don't get the wonder of the special relationship you have with your dog or in that matter your cat, or even your bird.

They don't "get" the heart that expands, that is so much larger from having been blessed by the love of an animal.

For it is in the simple pleasures we expand, the nose that touches our hand when we are down. The supreme joy when we are home again (even if we have only been gone an hour).

The absolute loyalty and love these animals show us. It just doesn't matter if our hair is dirty, or we are in a bad mood, or our shoes don't match.

What can be better than sitting with your dog, at the beach, in your backyard, in the pasture or the meadow, watching the breeze blow by, and the sunset.

Our pets, teach us how to love with an open heart, we stand abashed at some point, when we feel and see just how much our four legged little Fido loves us. How can we do less, than strive to be worthy of such love?

For me I am so sorry for all those folks, who for one reason or another have not been blessed by the love of a dog.

Originally Posted by AllDogBoots

Great post and I think about this often. I'm not from the south but I live in the south and it seems that people have dogs, not pets. My very own sister in law has a beagle who she claims is an outside dog. He's outside in a gigantic cage all day long. He doesn't come in the house and play with the kids, or kiss them or lay on their laps on the couch. The dog was bought because the kids wanted a dog. Nobody cares about him. But the love him......so they say.

The sad thing is that so many people will never know and that may even include people who 'own dogs'. The wonderful thing is that there is an esoteric bunch in the world who would be empty without the love of a pet. I could not imagine life without my dogs. They've carried be through so much tribulation and are always offering me unconditional love. I would be completely lost without them and fear the day that they are no longer with me.

I too am so sorry for those who haven't been blessed by the love of a dog. They will never know. They will never even realize that they should know.

My sister in law thinks I'm crazy and that makes me so darn happy.

You guys summed it up perfectly.