Our Dogs are Just Dogs………..Right? Methinks Not.

Dogs and cats are just pets right?  Now if I leave that statement as it is, can you imagine the feedback I would get about it?

The simple truth is that our pets have much more to do with our lives than we give credit.  I do not have a cat so I will speak from the perspective of being a dog owner (but if you have a cat, just inter-change the two as you continue reading).

I know there has been a great deal written about those who own a diabetes alert dog, but I want to widen that picture a bit because whether your dog can sense a glycemic reaction or not, the family dog is crucial to every family.

I was never going to own a dog; allergies.  So we searched high and low for dogs that I could live with without having a reaction.  Tootsie, a Bijon Frise, was our first dog.  Fast as the wind and a great dog.

When we lost Tootsie, it was devastating.  Anyone who loses a pet feels that hurt and pain that only a dog owner knows.  That decision to ‘make that choice’ can only be understood by those who have made it.  And quite honestly it just sucks.  Even though we know deep inside that it is the best decision for our little (or big depending on the obvious) furry friend,  it still hurts and condolences are always sent to those who are faced with that dreaded decision.

When I swore I would never have another dog, I knew that it was short-lived.  And now, as many know, I have two dogs.  There is something to be said about coming home to a ’empty house’ when those two little Shih Tzus come running to the door to say hello.  I would be the first to tell you that they are not my kids, but they are my kids with four paws.

They are very well-trained and they also sense when one of us is not doing well for whatever the reason.  They know where to sit and they know just how to make us feel that everything just might be okay.  People are amazed that if we tell our dogs to ‘go to their room’ they do so and how they play fetch, and are obedient and loving as they are.
No different from others I am sure…….they will never be in commercials or in dog shows but they will always be; ours.

My dogs names are Dusty and Jessie and they are brother and sister from two different litters; Dusty being older by about nine months.  All of our dogs have been named in honor of the movie classic, “Tootsie”; for reasons we know and if you know the movie-you can figure pretty quickly how we got their names.  Humans and animals are a lot alike in many ways.  How they get along.  How they play.  How they fight.  But take one away for any length of time and everyone feels it.  Everyone.  What is your favorite memory of your dog?  Add kids to the mix and the interaction is nothing less than priceless.

I did not have a dog for the longest time and I am honestly sure that I never missed not having one.  Now that I do, and those who do will agree I am sure, that once you have one, you will always have one (at least one).   Asking for nothing in return (well except to feed them and ‘let them out’) they are silly, loving, affectionate, and always loving us…….for just who we are.

That is something we can all use at some time or another; that nothing else can replace.

I am a diabetes dad.

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