What’s Important

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Sometimes I find myself feeling guilty for the things that we don’t have…like a big house, a big yard, alot of money. Especially when I read about other dane owners who seem to have such a great life, have the means to go all over the place and do all sorts of different things with their dogs. Which is funny when I think about it, because I’ve never felt that way before. I never felt awful about my son not having EVERYTHING he ever wanted, not having the best of the name brand clothes or the top of the line toys. I always looked at it from the point of view that having everything doesn’t make you a better person.

I know there are people out there who think that having a dog in an apartment, especially a Great Dane, isn’t fair. Well what I’d like to say to them is this:
We might not have all that others have…..but when I go to bed at night, I can rest easy knowing that Luke has everything he needs. He is not just a dog, he is at my side no matter what I do. He isn’t ignored while I go about my daily routine. He is included in everything, even if it’s something as simple as doing the laundry. He is talked to, he is loved, he is made a part of every family visit, every place I can take him, he goes. He eats better than I do that’s for sure!LOL

Luke gets more exposure to new experiences, more excersise, more socialization than most every dog I know, atleast around here. I know people who have houses, who think the back yard is plenty enough excersise and stimulation for their dogs until the odd day they feel like going somewhere like a park for a walk. Not so with my boy. Everyday we go out, even if it’s only for short intervals because of the cold. I’m lucky that I have a playground right down the street, a memorial park about a ten minute walk away, where he can run to his heart’s content.
He is not just a dog….he is my world. I thank God for him every single day when I wake up with his jowls on my cheek and his drool on my pillow…and every night when I give him a kiss and tell him how he has changed my life, I pray that God will be merciful and allow me to live a long life with him.
I am a tough cookie..always have been. I’ve known loss, and lived on with barely a hiccup or break in my stride. But I can honestly say, that if anything were to happen to Luke…I would be totally and utterly lost. The bond between us is something I cannot ever describe. I’ve tried believe me. I can’t immagine a life now without him totally in the middle of it, tail wagging a mile a minute, feet stomping on everything, drool flying. I love this boy more than I ever thought it possible to love someone or something.

I find happiness when he’s happy. If he’s playing with a new dog and enjoying himself, I enjoy myself…as if it were me who were playing. If he’s happy to get a new treat, I am happy, as if it were me who went out and treated myself, which never happens by the way lol. If he’s bored, then I get up off my butt and do whatever I can to give him something fun to do. He gives me a reason to get out of bed when otherwise life and it’s many stresses, not to mention the pain I’m in most of the time…would make me want to just crawl back under the covers and stay there.

I don’t need him to be the BEST dog, the robot who does a million tricks and never disobeys a single command. I don’t need him to be the smartest or to win anything to prove how he great he is. To me he is perfect, even when he steals the toilet paper, or the potatoes lol. Even when he has his moments of being the rebel. His personality is amazing to me. The way he finds such joy in simple things. The way he is so eager to give love and affection to anyone who will take it. He doesn’t care if I ever get out of my pj’s and put on my make up. He doesn’t care if our house is perfect, if we live in a mansion, if we drive a fancy car. As long as he gets to snuggle and play tug and mess up the sheets when I’m trying to make the bed, as long as he gets to have his zoomies and play in the park, he is happy. He doesn’t ask perfection from me….He doesn’t want an explanation for everything I think and say and do…he simply wants to be by my side.

Crazy as it may sound….sometimes I will look at him, and ask him….”Do I give you enough? Are you happy? What else can I do to make your life better?” and in those moments, I wish so badly that he could talk…that he could tell me in words exactly how he feels. But everytime, he will look deep into my eyes, and give me the biggest kiss. Maybe that is my answer.

I keep telling him that one day, we’ll win the lotto and I’ll buy him a big house with lots of land to run and play in. But you know? I know Luke. It wouldn’t matter if I had 50 acres…he would never be the dog to go out and run in it if I wasn’t by his side. That is who he is.

I wonder sometimes there is truth to what some believe, that people can come back in another life as humans, or vice versa. I don’t really believe that, but there are days when I really can’t help but wonder. He is so human like, has been since the minute I picked him up at the airport. That wasn’t something I taught him, by treating him like a human. It was simply him. The fabric of who and what he is and always will be. I know Danes are one of the most if not THE most human like dogs….but Luke takes it to a whole new level sometimes. Again, something I can’t explain or describe. You’d just have to know him.

There are alot of things I want to do with my boy…new things I want to experience with him, things I want to teach him. But in the end, if he never learns another command, if he simply stays the sweet, funny, loveable guy he is, then I will thank God for every second I am lucky enough to have with him.

He is irreplacable…..he is what love is and should be, and I’d rather live in a cardboard box with him, than live in heaven without him.