Happy Father's Day!

I've learned a lot from my Dad, even in the six short years that we have known each other. I've learned how not to complain, how to accept people the way they are, how to become more patient and how not to live in the "past". Those lessons were learned little by little, along the way of us developing a relationship. But I did learn one thing almost immediately after we met, that has given me joy I didn't realize I was missing...And that was how to LOVE DOGS.

I used to think dogs were just animals. Something that I didn't want around - especially in the house! I would see owners baby talking them, dressing them in cute couture and letting them lick their own ice cream cones and think, "Boy those folks have a screw missing!" Or I would visit a friend's house and their mangy mutt would greet me with a nose up my crotch and follow me around the entire time until I was vulnerable enough for him to get a leg up on me. I often wondered, "Why would anyone allow their dog to sleep in their bed or pay hundreds of dollars to have their dogs' teeth cleaned?" "A dog is a dog", I would think.

So you can imagine my dread, upon getting to know my Father for the first few times over telephone conversations, realizing how enamored he was over his own two dogs, Jake and Windy.

Being adopted at birth, it wasn't until I was 33 that my Dad and I were reunited. He lived across the country from me, so many phone calls were made trying to get to know each other. After a period of time I decided to fly out and meet him in person. I was thrilled to do so, but also pretty nervous about getting along with "the dogs". I came to understand over our chats that his dogs were like kids to him. And even though I had reservations about getting along with dogs myself, it did seem rather endearing that he was such a compassionate man towards them. But now it was time for us to spend time together, dogs included, and I was becoming apprehensive about interacting with Jake and Windy. I did after all, like all children, want my Dad's approval. And I could just imagine things going awry between me and the dogs.

But they handled me with kid gloves. They were perfectly behaved and the most polite dogs I had ever met. Jake was a gentle giant, a Newfoundland/Great Pyrenees/Saint Bernard Mix. Windy was a Golden Retriever and a very mild mannered lady. Perhaps they sensed my uneasiness, for they were both docile and willing to allow me to learn how to communicate with them in my own rudimentary way. We all walked and played around in a green space at the harbor on the bay and I grew more comfortable as time passed. Then my Dad remarked how Jake seemed friendlier to me than to most strangers and that was all I needed to hear. That declaration perked me up and it was like I'd liked dogs my entire life!

Over the next year, my Dad would comment here and there, that my boys needed to have their own dog. He felt it was part of growing up and an experience that all boys should get. "Every boy needs a dog", he would say. You know, 'man's best friend' hype. In return, I always had an excuse for why we could not get one, reciting how much trouble a dog would be, but secretly I was thinking through it in my own mind. Finally, the day came that I decided to get "the boys" a dog.

We chose a 6 month old male Labradoodle and it was love at first sight - for all of us! And, just as I thought, he was a handful! His first day home he bathed me in dog water drool and christened his new crate with diarrhea. We had to potty train him, crate train him, and leash train him. He was afraid of school buses and vacuum cleaners. We had some rough times that first week, but I realized the joy the he would bring me that first night, when the only way to keep him from whimpering in his crate was to move it beside my bed and sleep with my fingers stuck between the bars so he could feel that I was still there with him.

Since then we've had a lot of good times together. Learning tricks, going on walks, fetching, camping, hiking and just plain hanging out. We've treated him to ice cream and baby talked our hearts out. Now my boys are the type to bring in every stray they see on our street and we have even added a second dog to the family.

I realize now that he is 3, that you can't explain to non-pet owners the bond between man and dog. And this past year has brought some sad changes for my Dad. Both Jake and Windy have passed on and he is having to get used to life without a dog. I guess in the coming years it will be my turn to talk my Dad into getting a dog. I've mentioned it a couple of times and he's dismissed it, saying how hard it is to travel when you own a dog and likely remembering some of the more difficult times when they were medically fragile. But I'll keep nudging. Because after all...

EVERY BOY NEEDS A DOG!