Tuesday, March 25, 2008

have you read good dog. stay?


the book written by anna quindlen? i heard about this book last year ago..wanted to read it..but kept putting if off. i knew the subject matter was the author's experience with losing her dog and i just was not ready for the emotional reaction i knew i would have. i have told you before..many times..how much i love mosey. my question for today is...how much do you love your dog? (or pet if you have another kind of animal)
i always assumed that i would love my dog..but i never knew just how much...i must admit..i have become one of those dog people!!?? i talk about mose as if he is my son...i worry about him..obsess about real and imagined illnesses. i was talking to a friend the other day..she also is a dog lover...and we both admitted that we even hesitate to go on vacations when our dogs cannot go with us...we miss them too much. have i really gone over the edge? (mose is now a 115 lb golden and at least i never dress him up!!)
anyway, i saw the book Good Dog. Stay. in the library last week and checked it out...last night was the perfect night for me to read the book...i have had a bit of a rough patch the past few months..a beloved relative passed away, my family is still grieving, and..someone that i thought was a good and true friend was just using me and this has hurt me deeply. i figured it was time to let out some emotions, read the book..and have a good cry. the section when the dog needs to be put down will get to you...tough to read..and i did have my emotional good cry... but the author ends the book with observations of what she learned from her dog and i found this passage very inspirational..
"and that's what i learned from watching beau over his lifetime: to roll with the punches (if not in carrion), to take things as they come, to measure myself not in terms of the past or the future but of the present, to raise my nose in the air from time to time and, at least metaphorically, holler, "i smell bacon". i'm not what i once was, and neither, by the end, was he........sometimes an old dog teaches you new tricks"

as the commercial says.."dogs rule" please add your comments regarding your thoughts and stories of the love you have for your dogs...pictures too...

best,

napa farmhouse 1885

12 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

My dog is my best friend..I love her more then most people. I will read the book you discussed.
Thank you for the suggestion

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh, all I could say about my 4 dog household might "bog down" your blog!!!! Suffice it to say that I don't just love my dog(s), I adore and cherish them, and frankly, like them better than most humans (excluding, of course, farmgirls :))

p.s. Read your blog about Mose. What a beaut! And, don't feel bad--we've not been on vacation in 8 years :)

Anonymous said...

I love love love love love my dog Kyle. I've had him since he was 8 weeks old and he just turned 9.....

Anonymous said...

My dog is my child.....My heart bursts whenever I watch her run and prance.

It took a lifetime to get my first dog who was tragically hit by a car in 2006. This second dog enabled me to correct mistakes and "do it right". I sold eggs and jam for 6 months and saved for Jasmine. It was pretty funny when I took a wad of 700 mostly dollar bills to the teller for deposit.

I told her it was from egg sales. She said "sure is a lot of eggs." You can't beat a good laying hen!

I had intended to take Jas w/ me for a week or two to work, just to get her through the potty routine. 2 weeks turned into 4 months before it got too warm. that, ans she started nibbling on the flocked lining of my truck cap. Folks enjoyed watcing us train and play during our lunch breaks. I found out some of the security guards would periodically stop by my truck and give her a rub or make sure she was comfortable.

They say a dog forms its impressions of the world w/ in the first 4 months of its life. I feel fortunate enough to have been able to expose Jas to all kinds of people and circumatances. The parking lot always has activity going on and all kinds of noises. So this time I have a dog who is used to gun-type loud noises, would rather fetch a ball in the rain and thunder, but hides in her crate whenever hubby and I speak loudly or argue. Smart dog.

Jas is just a little over a year now, and my pride and joy.

There's just someting so cool about coming home after a really bad day of work and being greeted with unconditional love and sheer joy.

Beemoosie said...

Oh....could I just have a good cry right now? Whew...well, my 11 1/2 year old rottie has bone cancer. We know that in the very near future we will have to make that last trip to the Vet with her to put her down. Tears my heart out just thinking of her. She has been my best friend for years. My quilting and gardening buddy. Goodness, she could melt my heart and get me to spoil her in ways even my kids can't!

Anonymous said...

Probably too much...Buddy, a Chesapeake lab mix, was a pound puppy. Now he is the official taste tester and pillow fluffiness tester of this house. He is especially fond of mashed potatoes and lasagne, but he won't eat it out of his bowl. He'll only take it off "his" fork!

Reminds me of a joke my husband told me: How to find the meaning of true love. Put your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car. After an hour, open it up. Who's happy to see you?

Anonymous said...

I know I commented earlier but I wanted to add a little story about my dog Kyle.

When he was 2, we lived in an apartment in Indianapolis. Well, I had just broken up with a boyfriend and was crying over the end of the relationship. Kyle HATES when I cry. So I'm sitting on one end of the couch crying and he's on the other end. I see him look at me, then look at the floor, then look at me, then look at the floor - and all of the sudden, he just tumbled off the couch and onto the floor and then hopped up with this pleased look on his face. Well, his goofiness caused me to laugh and stop crying...he ran over, licked the tears off my face, and I was good to go. Reason #5 of six million that I LOVE that dog!

Oh, and thank you for starting this great topic and for visiting my website! I saw your comment on my blog and i appreciate it! :)

Anonymous said...

I really love my dogs - they are my babies. I have Chihuahuas and they really love me too. Each one is trully an individual. They show us all the time that hey love us equally as much as we love them.

They love to go for walks with me. Pinky Lee, our white with fawn, leaps into my arms and presses his neck against mine, as if to say, "hug me Mom".

Anonymous said...

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Jasper is my first baby! I saved him from the pound. I knew he would be left to die because he looks like a jinormous pitbull. He is American Bulldog and pitbull, we think. He is the best dog I have ever had. He is so good with the baby. I found him on www.petfinder.com. he didn't even have a name, he was id #6479. I drove from Bonney lake, wa to Edmonds, wa, twicw during rush hour to get him. We got to bring him home on Valentine's Day, two years ago. His neutering surgery was a hack job, and we had to bring him to our country vet for help. He was too smart, and figured out his elizabethan collar, so DH and I took turns sleeping on the couch, and standing watch, so he didn't rip his stitches. There were many tears during his healing time. Now he lives the papmered life of eating premium kibble and left overs :) and his bed is right by the heater. My mom calls him Ferdinand the Bull because he likes to smell flowers. He is 82 lbs. of pure love.



Trish

Anonymous said...

Please keep posting about Mose. He is beautiful!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE my Scottie Angus. I have always LOVED dogs (other people's), but never knew how much until I owned my own dog. He is my baby.
If all else fails, the dog is glad to see me, even if the kids aren't. LOL