Thirty-Something Speaks
Dogs — love, lick, and lounge
Mike Maddock

Yago the Belgian Malinois and Miko the German Shepherd greet each other through a chain link fence each morning by lifting their legs and peeing on one another. It must be a European thing; kind of like when French guys say hello with a kiss to each cheek. I guess Yago and Miko's owners should be happy the two dogs aren't frolicking in Speedos and bad- mouthing America, but still the behavior is a bit strange. Either the two dogs really have no use for one another or they've figured out peeing through a chain link fence is a lot easier than sniffing through it.

Dogs are strange and wonderful creatures. Long ago my aunt was consoling my granddad on my father's side about the death of his dog Snuffy by sympathetically telling him losing a dog was like losing a child. His response was, and I quote, "Yeah, but you get attached to a dog." I think that says it all. Snuffy never crashed his car or tried to break into his liquor cabinet or asked about his inheritance. He just loved my granddad.

When my mother and I would visit my grandmother on my mother's side, my grandmother would have a large box of treats waiting for my dog J.J. J.J. would sniff the box, then leave it on the floor without the slightest hint of gratitude other than a half- hearted wag of the tail. And what did she have for me? That's right…nothing, but for some reason I still had to say thank you for it.

Dogs get treats and a pass when it comes to social graces. What else on earth gets to lick itself in the most unfortunate places and then lick our faces?

It's dogs.

One of my dogs, a female Cocker Spaniel named Daisy, believes nothing is off limits when it comes to chewing. The other day I thought I'd misplaced a box of nails. After a brief search, I found Daisy wagging her stubby little tail looking up at me with the box of nails between her paws as if to say, "Hey man, you oughtta try some of these!" Either she's crazy or she's one strange looking goat, but Daisy has chewed up everything from a crib mattress to our bathroom wall. And what do we do about it? We give her the primo spot in our bed to make sure she's comfortable.

Why is that? Because dogs, even ones named Daisy, have an ability to make human beings feel special no matter what the circumstances. They greet us at the door like we're movie stars, even if we just stepped out a few minutes to take out the garbage. They ask for nothing but an occasional lap to put their heads on. They give love unconditionally and only ask they not get scolded too badly when they get caught gleefully slurping water from the toilet.

Human lives can get so complicated, but a dog's life is simple: love, lick, and lounge.

Over half our stuff might have teeth marks in it, and there's no telling what preceded that enthusiastic lick on the face from Daisy, but I don't care. As long as I feel like Brad Pitt every time I come home, I'm fine.