Things I Love #5, My Dogs.

Hi folks, time for another entry in the one hundred things I love. This time I will tell you a bit about my dogs. I love these wonderful beasts more than you might imagine. They are all rescues, cast aside as unwanted by others. Not to worry, it all turned out for the best. Friends say that they want to come back as one of my dogs in the next life.

These lads have been my constant companions for many years now. We had a few growing pains when they were young, but we got through it all together. They traveled with us to the Arctic and endured the winters there, they returned to the south with us and moved around without complaint.

By their very nature dogs are easy to love, for they dish it out constantly. It matters not if I have been gone from the house for ten hours or ten minutes, I get the same enthusiastic welcome when I return. It is the same when I awaken each morning. They know, even if I have not stirred, they know. They stretch, shake, then begin to nuzzle at me with wet noses and rub against me with warm furry bodies.

They are a mismatched pack, a lab, a retriever, a beagle daschund cross, and a small terrier, yet it works. When we go out for a walk they trot along beside me until I take off the leashes. Once loosed, the larger dogs run ahead and snuffle about while the two smaller boys lag behind a bit. They never get too far away for they are always watching to see what I will do, where I will go, then they sprint after me.

These guys have guarded our home, our property, and our lives. They enjoy our company as much as we enjoy theirs. They exercise me regularly, and do their best to keep me out of mischief. They are true loving companions. At the end of day they will settle down beside me, sigh deeply, as only a dog can, thump a tail on the floor then fall asleep with the ease of the truly innocent.

So here they are, my boys, Odie the Labrador, Bran, the retriever cross, Jocko the daschund/beagle cross, and Piper, the terrier mix.