Dogs

For as long as I can remember I've always loved dogs. When I was a kid I was instantly attracted to dogs, and finally when I was 11 I got my own dog. Coco, a ridiculously smart border collie that among other things could turn doorknobs, and knew her way all around Bellingham. On more than one occasion I got the call that Coco had walked several miles and shown up on their doorstep and scratched to be let in. Many times this was to houses we'd only driven to . . . how do they do that?

One of my friends teased that he wouldn't recognize me without my border collie familiar tagging along by my side . . . I'm ok with that.

Dogs have taught me so many wonderful things. Because of my relationship with my dogs I'm a better parent and a better person. They've taught me patience and not to be guarded with my love. When dogs love they do it with every fiber of their body . . .

I can remember the exact moment I fell in love with Kess. It wasn't at the pound, but later that night at home. She was terrified of the cats (with good reason) so she wouldn't come into the house. She was also very nervous about coming up to people. So I laid down on the floor and she came and laid next to me and then slowly started to poke her nose her and there to my giggles and within moments she was jumping all over me, wiggling like mad and licking any bit of me she could find. I was such a happy moment as if both of us just dropped a ton of baggage in that moment and started our lives together.

My dogs have taught me to live in the moment, enjoy life when it's there to be had. The price I pay for all of this therapy? Well the the cost that weighs on my mind most often is that I'll have to say goodbye to so many dogs in my life and it doesn't ever get easier.

Watching Kess grow from a scared shelter dog into the brutish athlete that she is has been amazing. I consider Kess running through an open field with pure joy in her heart to be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I could watch her run for hours. She was the most graceful running dog I have ever seen. That's why it seems oh so cruel that this athlete would have to endure so much injury and pain.

It's with a heavy heart that I decided to have Kess's leg amputated, but the hope that I can once again see her running and happy will help me through the tough days. So I feel both extremely sad thinking about what Kess will endure, and extremely happy that very soon she'll be able to run pain free again.

It's really hard to love dogs, and it's expensive, but I think it's worth every minute of heartache and every penny, and it's a hardship I'm willing to endure in order to share my life with them.