Pets Equal Love

I don’t get to brag about my dog very much here.  Although I exploit her via Instagram often, I try not to bombard posts w her.  Love has been the word of my year & it falls in line perfectly w today because it’s Bernice’s birthday this week.

I think I’ve shared Bernice’s adoption story before but allow me to share it once more, perhaps with a new perspective.  I lived alone & was most definitely living paycheck to paycheck.  I didn’t exactly have a 5-year plan written down.  However, I knew I needed a true companion.  & responsibility.  Literally every single person I mentioned my idea of adopting a dog to, told me not to.  In their defense, I didn’t look prepared.  I liked going out, drinking & dancing, OFTEN.  I finally found this sweet dog of mine after work one day at a quick stop to The Humane Society.  The location was about to close, but I knew it all made sense so I took her in my hands & said I’m not leaving without her.  (I had much quicker decision-making skills back then.)  The rest is history!  I don’t mean that in a fairytale way, more in a partners in crime way.  She ate a lot of money & peed on too many things to glorify the beginning of our relationship.

Since I traveled to Dallas this past weekend w Bernice it reminded me of one of my first trips w her.  After a weekend at the beach w Bernice & a crew of friends, I remember thinking I would literally do ANYTHING for her, but the twist was – happily.  That weekend, we checked into a hotel that had a no dog policy & we couldn’t figure out how to work around it.  Literally every other hotel in the small beach town was BOOKED.  There were a few other girls with us that did NOT have dogs so they were sitting pretty in the cool hotel room while a friend & I desperately tried to scramble & figure out what we were going to do w our doggies.  It was a VERY stressful 2 nights.  We ended up packing the dogs in the back of the car & us 4 (me, friend, B, & friends dog) parked on the beach to sleep with the windows down.  Sounds fun?  It was absolute hell.  We’re talking JULY in Texas.  The night didn’t offer any bit of coolness.  The salt of the ocean offered the only breeze we could find but left salt crystals glued to our skin for 2 days.  The sand penetrated every crevice of our bodies & car.

I vividly remember one of the girls say, fresh out of a cooling shower from the hotel room, as she looked at us in our bloodshot & strained eyes: “This is exactly why I don’t have a dog”.

And not for 1 second did I stop & think: You’re right, I regret this responsibility.

I didn’t want to be my friend, in the hotel without a dog.  I didn’t envy her in that moment.  My dog was my partner.  I wanted to be in the hotel WITH her, sure.  But regardless, I wanted to sleep with her.  At the beach, as tired, hot & uncomfortable as I was – I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Why? Because LOVE.  LOVE you guys!  Remember earlier this year when I said my “intention” of the year was LOVE?  Well, I’ve been going strong.  Exploring the word, diving into the emotion, seeing where & how I can apply more love to my interactions, & to myself.  Taking the last 7 months with LOVE at the front of my mind has made me even more aware of its importance.

Bernice came to me at a time when friends were moving away after graduation college, I had no significant relationship, my family lived states away, I had the shittest job of all time – I was alone & honestly felt like it.  This little animal quickly became the only thing that knew every piece of me & forgivingly gave me every ounce of her love from day 1.  Even after she ate the only $20 I had to my name, she rolled over apologizing.  She fucking loved me.

That’s why most of us human beings adore our animals so much, because they give us the one required, super-powerful emotion of LOVE – unconditionally.

That friend on the beach has no idea how much has already been given to me by this dog, or she would have 100% understood why sleeping on the beach with Bernice was a sacrifice I’d happily make.

So for my doggie’s 8th birthday today, I’ll say this –  Anyone who hasn’t had that unconditional LOVE that an animal gives you, I hope you do someday.  I’ve yet to experience anything comparable.  True love, that we all search for, is so easy w these little animals.

Happy Birthday to my sweet angel dog.  She’s a herding dog & ultimately is happy only when everyone is together, so that’s what we’ll do for her.  Omg is there anything more precious?

Love you,

be thoughtful