Thursday, December 23, 2010

Our House as a Home

The Greatest Gift of All is the Hug of a Friend t-shirt
It's funny, but even after having the pooches for a few years, it seems somewhat surreal to have dogs running around our house. There are days that A asks me if it feels weird to have these little beasts in our house and all up in our face.
Though it feels odd, and it took getting used to, it feels a lot stranger without them around. Whenever we drop them off to get a bath or at my mother's place or a friend's place to be watched before we head out on a trip, our house doesn't feel like a home. We even find ourselves calling for them, knowing full well that they aren't in our house. Even when we go on vacations to ‘get away from it all’ we often find that we spend our whole trip talking about the pooches: wondering what they’re doing at that moment, and thinking of how much they would enjoy doing what we’re doing at that time. We feel a bit lost if we can’t cling onto a resident dog.
Though it seems like our pooches love us and need us, I believe we need them more.
When I was reading Trupanion's blog asking how our pet's love is the only thing we need for the holidays, it made me realize not only how important it is this time of year, but year round. I love waking up to see Mr. B's huge head peeking over my side of the bed each morning eager to eat breakfast and start our day's grand adventure.
Though we have many grand adventures around the city,
he is even happy just having 'a grand adventure' hanging out in the house and spending time with us:
He will follow me from room to room, finding a cozy spot to lay where I am, only to jump up the moment I leave the room.
If I go out at night, he will wait patiently in his tepee until the moment I get home.
When I bike to work, he will be watching me until the moment I am  out of sight, and when I'm biking back home, I can see his little face in the window watching out for me.
It is a shame to see all these stories of people abusing their pooches, when just like all dogs, Mr. B's greatest adventure is spending time with his best friend and giving him smooches.
Ironically, Ms. M thinks the same and that her pet, Mr. B's love is her holiday gift.

31 comments:

The Heartbeats said...

Amen! I feel the same way!

mamma heartbeat

Anonymous said...

this is timely for us, because mr. chick is off at his grandparents house for christmas (waiting for us to arrive) and we take little miss lollie wonderdog to her boarding place (where she is the star and the favorite, naturally) tomorrow morning. it's always a little sad without the pups around, but a good reminder of how important they are to us :)

aleksandra
follow our foster: loveandaleash.wordpress.com

Unknown said...

I could not agree more; the "puppies" are happy just as long as they are near us & we feel the same way. This will be our first Christmas that we are not traveling & we are looking forward to cuddling up with the "kitties" & "puppies"!

Heather

Levi said...

What a wonderful post and very true! when Levi is at daycare I find myself looking for him and noticing how quiet and lonely it is without him :)
How is it having 2 dogs? I am trying to convince my husband that we need another dog (one of our blog furiends that's in foster actually) and he thinks that our home would not be big enough, etc. You seem to fare very well and you live in an apartment. Any tips?

Corbin said...

Aw, this was a wonderful post! I agree completely... We have our jobs, our friends and our families... while they have only us. Their love for us is so much, it's hard to imagine anyone could abuse them. Happy Holidays to your family!
-Corbin's momma, Jenn

The Daily Pip said...

What a nice post. We couldn't agree more. It always feels strange when Pip goes to the groomer or to visit my mom. I always find myself looking for him or calling his name.

Unknown said...

I absolutely hate coming home from vacation and not having the dogs there until the next day. It's so quiet and lonely. And you're right, they are the best friends we could ever ask for!

Princess said...

Thanks for the smile. And the translation of exactly how it feels to be a pet owner and how much we need them. Although, when P follows us room to room in our >1000 square foot condo it can feel like they definately need us too! :o)

Shauna (Fido and Wino) said...

I totally know what you mean! When ever my husband go away we talk about the dogs constantly & think about how much fun they would be having with us... & us with them :)

Lucy-Fur, as typed by Dr. Liz said...

Completely agree! We actually stopped going to 'away' ski races because we hated leaving the dogs for a weekend. (And we bought the motorhome so we could take them to all our car races/vacations.) We even miss them when we drop them off to day care for a few hours (and when they have gone to the groomers? after about 2 hours, my husband is constantly asking when they are coming home). Our 'kids' are the most important thing in our lives, bar none.

-Dr. Liz (the girls are next to me, sleeping soundly after a good romp in the snow)

Heather said...

I definitely feel the same way. When my husband and I were on our honeymoon we talked a lot about the dogs and 'adopted' a little mutt for the day that walked into a bar we were sitting at. It made us feel a little bit less dog-sick to have a pooch around. :)

Anonymous said...

When my husband went away for two weeks on business, he actually had to go to a dog park for a few hours because he missed playing with our dog so much. I am sure I will be much the same if I ever have to leave for a little while.

It doesn't take long before you start wondering how you ever lived without them.

brooke said...

Love this! And its so true!

Anonymous said...

We are exactly the same - when we go on vacation, we're always wondering how the dog (or dogs, in the past) is doing. And we seem to gravitate toward dogs that we run into on trips since we can't be with ours :) I completely agree with you about not understanding how people can abuse animals!!! Anyone who can abuse an animal is a truly horrible person and the punishment should be much harsher for them.

Two French Bulldogs said...

You practically have mom slobbering over here. She agrees with you 110%. whatever that means. Us doggies love you guys lots too
Benny & Lily

Tucker The Crestie said...

Our mom knows exactly what you mean!

Wyatt said...

Home is where the dogs are!! We really miss ours, when we go on a dogless vacation. They really do become a big part of your life.

Wyatt's Mom

houndstooth said...

I feel the same way! The greatest gift of all is their companionship.

I still wonder how those people who don't have dogs or cats or some other pet to come home to do it.

1000 Goldens said...

I love this post so much! We are complete the same - I can't believe how much I miss him when he goes to the groomer. On vacation, it is always comforting to find any dog to pet. They are the purest joy!

AC said...

Beautiful post and all wonderfully said. I love all the pictures you have of your pooches staring eagerly into the camera.

Those Elgin Pugs said...

What a beautiful post~
Momma always tells Daddy Man 'dat hers feels most at home when we's all cuddled ups on sofa watching movie or alls us's playing..

Momma loves the sounds of our pitter patters on the floors and doesn't minds when we barks sometimes..

Happy Holidays~~
IzZY, Josie, TriXie and Anakin Man

HoundDogMom said...

We will post what we get in those stockings after Christmas. The HoundDogs Merry Christmas to your family.

Luci's Mama said...

I feel that same way! My home is empty without my Luci :)

Bobby said...

HOW NICE TO HAVE A DOG ADORE YOU AND IT IS THROUGH KINDNESS AND LOVE THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN, IT IS PAID BACK A HUNDRED TIMES OVER WHEN YOU LOOK IN THEIR EYES LOOKING AT YOU WITH SO MUCH TRUST.
HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Meeka said...

Happy Holidays!

The Thuglets said...

Brillo paws post!

We wish you a Very Happy Christmas.

Enjoy the holidays.

Big Nose Pokes
The Thugletsx

Susan Campisi said...

What a touching tribute to our animals. I agree they are the greatest gift. Hope you had a wonderful holiday with your family of humans and pooches! (I couldn't look at that link to an animal cruelty story. What is wrong with people?!)

Author said...

i love your dogs!!!! but now mine are wondering why they don't have their own tee pee.

Lindsay said...

I miss my dog and cat so much if they're not around. I think I'm the one with separation anxiety. They love to follow me from room to room, but if I go on vacation they seem to get by just fine without me.

Kitty+Coco said...

Well said. I have become so accustomed to my two pups that I can't sleep without them. We have become "those" people who talk endlessly about them wherever we go. My rule in life, is that if you don't like my pups, I don't like you. Kitty is very in tune with my moods, and is an instant mood lifter. I have often said that our lives would be so boring without them. It is good to know there are others out there who feel the same way.

Emily said...

Is this one of your favorites? It's one of mine! I have it saved in my bookmarks at work because I love to go back to it. =)

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