Dogs.

Dogs.

They are amazing. I’ve had occasion to think a lot about dogs the past few weeks. I first wanted to get a dog for our family when we had only 2 children. My wife would not hear of it. She was afraid it would eat them. I did not want my kids to be afraid of dogs so as part of our Saturday morning ritual, we made it a habit to stop at North Shore Animal League after getting our traditional bacon and eggs on a roll from Hinks and checking out that week’s crop of garage sales. I remember when Shannon was only 4 or 5 as she sat on Michele’s lap describing in great detail, what kind of dog she was going to get. Michele admonished her that “You know that if you get a dog, Mommy will not live here any more.” This upset Shannon greatly and she spun around in Michele’s lap throwing her spindly arms around her neck as she sobbed “Oh Mommy, we’re REALLY going to miss you!” Michele gave me a dirty look and growled a whispered “This is your doing.”

It was. I confess it now, it was entirely by design. There was a method to my madness and it was only a matter of time before we found each other. One fine Spring Saturday morning I met Oreo and it was all over. No questions she was ours and we were hers at first sight and forever.

As I said, admittedly, I wanted to get a dog for selfish reasons. I wanted a dog for what it and only it could teach my children. I knew that our pets would teach them responsibility. To walk, feed, and play with them all required a certain level of commitment and consistency that I hoped my kids would develop but I wanted more.

I wanted them to learn things that I could never explain to them. I wanted them to learn what it was like to see their baby turn into an adult. I wanted them to learn that they could dry more tears in the soft fur of a gentle dog than anywhere else. I wanted them to learn that they could give unconditional love and have it returned 10 fold and I really wanted them to learn and adopt as an aspirational goal to try to live up to being the kind of person their dog actually thought they were. I wanted them to learn and to witness what it was like for their pet to have babies and start the miracle of life and finally and most appallingly, I wanted them to know the grief that comes from letting go of someone they loved when it was time and to sob with abandon when it inevitably happened. Oreo taught all of my children these things and more. I hope they understand and forgive me. Thank you Oreo. You were the best teacher they ever had. You taught them kindness, you taught them empathy and ultimately you taught them humanity.