My Dog, Myself

I used to be a cat person when I was young.

I am a dog person now, and have been since 1977, when a stray dog wandered into our path and ended up following us home.

Jojo, my first.

We kept it, of course. Named it Jojo, and in 2 years it moved from puppy-size (pictured here) to a full-grown lab-mutt mix, one with his own inscribed water bowl.

It marked the beginning of my ‘dog socialization,’ a unique characteristic of one’s relationship with a dog that doesn’t necessarily exist with other popular pets.

Here are some things I believe to be true about dogs:

• Dogs require you to be social. They need to be walked and therefore they pull you outside into the world where you inevitably meet other dog owners and they meet other dogs.
• Dogs are always happy to see you when you walk in the door, regardless of your mood.
• Dogs are so loyal to their owners, aka their ‘Top Dogs,’ that even when they are lame, sick, or even dying, they’ll struggle to their feet to follow them if they can.
• Holding or cuddling a dog supposedly makes one’s blood pressure drop.

This blog will explore the relationship between dogs and their humans, and how modern society has integrated them into our culture. Yep, dogs fly, travel on the subway, dress up for Halloween, and get ‘pet’icures. They are also put down at the rate of 1 million per year (says the ASPCA).

Why do we love them? Why don’t we? What do they tell us about ourselves? Do we resemble our dogs?

Let’s see.