I woke this morning, to find so many wonderful comments on Facebook and my inbox in response to this blog post! I never expected something I wrote on here to be viewed by so many people, or to have the kind of response that it has received. Rather than try and reply to each individual comment, I thought it would be best to just write a new blog post all together, to thank everyone for their thoughtful and touching stories. Thank you so much for taking the time to not only share this with your groups and pages, but for taking time out of your busy days to write and share your experiences with me here and on Facebook.
How nice it is to know that we are not alone in our feelings for our dogs. It still amazes me to this day, how simply having a dog/s in your life, can bring people from all over the world, from all walks of life, together. People we would never meet, become a big part of our daily lives just by virtue of the fact we share a common bond…our love for our dogs. With all the negative that has come from technology, there’s no doubt that in this case, it has brought a lot of positive to our world as well!
I Â often think of that…of how I really owe Luke, for most of the good friends I have now. I may never meet most of them in person, but I have had the opportunity to get to know so many wonderful people all over the globe, thanks to him and my joining dog forums and Facebook groups in the quest to share and learn with other dane/dog owners. Just one more way that Luke has brought blessings to my life.
The stories and memories that you all have shared with me, touch my heart. It’s nice to know we’re not alone in our passion for our dogs isn’t it? I’m sure many of you can relate to how many times people in our off line lives tell us we’re “crazy”, or “obsessed” lol. Family members who think we spend far too much time talking about our dogs, or spend too much money on them, etc. For many…the only way we get to meet like minded people IS to go online. When our beloved dogs pass on, it can be those people who we only know through a picture or a screen name, that can be of the most comfort to us. Thank God for that link between us, otherwise many of us would have to go it alone.
When I started this blog, it was more with the intent to have a place to jot down my thoughts at the time, experiences I shared with Luke, and the occasional bit of advice or education that I’ve come across over the years. I am no expert, by any stretch of the imagination, on anything really lol…but I have seen so much misinformation out there in regards to Great Danes, that I do try to help educate those that I can when I have the opportunity. I’ve been grateful for the chance to do that quite a few times, when new owners who haven’t had the time put into researching so many aspects of the breed as I have over the years, have come across a problem they needed some input on, and have later told me I helped them to figure it out or solve it. It makes the time I spend trying to learn even more, worth it, as it’s not just for me then, it’s for other people who may go looking for answers themselves someday too.
I wish sometimes that Luke could actually know the huge impact just being in my life has had. Maybe he does. I often say that we don’t give animals nearly enough credit as they deserve. After all, we humans think we have the intelligence market covered…but there are often times where we shown that we don’t know nearly as much as we like to think we do 😛 Animals do things everyday, all around the world, that blow our minds. That make us wonder….how did they do that? How did they know that? Maybe WE are the inferior species after all 😛 After all…how many times do we see evidence that animals possess a greater humanity and humility than we ever will as a species?
Thank you again, to everyone who shares their personal stories. If I don’t get to you all individually, I want you to know that if I see it, I am reading it, and it means a lot to me that you take time out of your lives to share it. Each of you are just another thing I must thank Luke for, as it is he, that bridges the gap between us, and allows us to get to know one another when our paths would otherwise never meet.
God Bless!
Luke The Greatest Dane 