A dog person

I've never considered myself to be a "dog person." I've always been fearful of other people coming over to my house and being able to smell or visibly see the dog hair. I don't love ALL dogs. I don't LIKE all dogs. I'm actually allergic to dogs. ("Cat people", although I don't understand you, just insert the word "cat" every time you read "dog".)

I had dogs growing up as my mom has always been a "dog person" and I even had my own dog, or two. So don't think maybe I'm not attached to dogs because I never experienced them growing up as a kid. I had plenty of dogs. I never felt super bonded to them, however, but I liked them. I remember them passing away and laying on the floor with them on my final night together, so I know I must of at least acted like I loved them.

To be honest, dogs baffle me. I am convinced that dogs are really God's way to check on us and follow us around all the time on earth and see what we're really doing. How else can you explain an animal that eats the exact same thing twice a day for their entire life and never complains? How else can you explain something so selfless that it can be ignored for hours and hours on end and instead of being angry or vengeful, they wag their tail and are absolutely thrilled you are finally home? How can you explain something that's willing to bark at anything remotely threatening to defend it's owner no matter what it is? How else could God demonstrate unconditional love and make a human understand what that really means? He created a dog. That's how.

We recently lost our family dog to what we believe was cancer in his brain/old age. He was old and had lived a very full life but that doesn't stop us from missing him every minute of the day. That dog and I had a serious history. We "reserved" our dog right before we found out I was pregnant with our first child. I wanted to back out right then but my husband really was adamant that we needed a dog. Not just any dog. A hunting dog from 8 hours away that cost a fortune, especially to a newly-married couple! A dog I was never going to go hunting with and had never heard of a Weimaraner before. No, I was NOT sold on this dog!

But as a newly married wife I said "sure honey" and off on our 8 hour journey we went! This dog was the epitome of adorable when we first got him. Light gray skin, piercing blue eyes and so incredibly soft. I fell for him, hard. He cried the first night we put him in his crate and so what did my pregnant self decide to do? Climb in the crate and sleep with him of course! I was pregnant remember so the hormones were just raging! I couldn't listen to the crying puppy whimper all night. Still not a dog person though.

This puppy and I went round and round with a newborn in the house and his desire to run hot laps around my living room while the baby was sleeping!! There were many days I opened the front door and begged him to run away. Turns out, he wasn't that stupid. He knew where his next meal and warm bed was coming from. OH, warm beds. That dog was obsessed with being the first person to jump on the bed after I changed the sheets. Drove me insane!! Being allergic to dogs means I preferred for him to not get on the bed and get his dander/pet hair everywhere, which he seemed to somehow know this and immediately jump on the bed after I would change the sheets every single chance he got. UGH that dog!!

He pushed my buttons in every possible sense of the word. I swear he waited until I was in the shower before he decided he had to pee. Every time. And if there was a chance he could run out the door and go gallivant in the pasture eating cow patties, he would be gone before you realized a door was open. He was an opportunist and a smart one. He knew I was a softie and would be the first person to tell him to get up in bed so he could keep my feet warm. And he knew that I would always give him extra treats just to try to fatten him up in hopes he would get lazier with age. That NEVER happened by the way. He did not know the word "lazy" unfortunately for me.

That dog taught me so much about life. I look back now on all the times when I would get so frustrated that I would be in the middle of doing 423 things at bedtime like trying to get my shower done, tell the kids to go to sleep for the millionth time, and then the dog would be pawing at the door to go pee. I didn't realize then that the dog never really had to go pee at that exact moment. He was telling me to take a break. To step back from a hectic situation and take a moment to pause and breathe. He was telling me that those hectic situations would be just a faint memory in a few days or weeks and they were not worth getting angry over.

One of my favorite ways to think about my dog was how he used to love to just lay on the deck in the sun. There was nothing more relaxing to him than to sit there in the sun and just listen to the sounds. He would lay out there until he was panting so hard from the heat and finally give in to come in and get a drink. There was nothing stressing him out. No worries. No fears. No guilt. Nothing. Just him and God's creations basking in all their glory. Many times I was so jealous of how peaceful he looked. How happy and content even knowing his next meal would be the exact same as all the others. Now THAT is contentment!

I don't have to worry about leaving food out on the counter now for fear my dog can get to it. I don't have to worry about not hiding my trash can in the pantry so the dog doesn't drag everything out of it in hopes for scraps. I don't have to worry about the dog hair all over the house or his nails scratching my leather couch. I don't have to worry about accidents in the house while I was gone. I can actually mop my floors and know they will stay clean for more than 24 hours. Well, not much more because I do have children after all.

But I would give all of that up in a second to have more time with my dog. My fury, stinky, hairy, slobery, loving, giving, amazing dog that I miss more than I ever thought possible. It turns out I am a "dog person" however I just had to have the right dog prove this to me. Bailey was that dog and I am so grateful I was able to share time on earth with him.

XOXO,

Ashley