Family Dog

I am not a dog person. Not at all. I can count the number of dogs I actually care for to some degree on one hand and have three fingers left over. One of those dogs is...ahem...uh...the one we currently own. Now I know if my husband sees this he will jump in the air ecstatically. He is a dog whisperer and he loves our dog.

I just don't get it. They need constant maintenance: walks, poop clean-up, baths, and if you want to go on vacation forget it! Where are you going to put your dog?

The reason I tolerate Rosie is because she is an easy low-maintenance dog. She is great with kids. She doesn't bark ALL THE TIME, but if someone hangs too close to our house for too long she'll let out a low growl just to let them know she is there. She loves just about everyone she sees but I did personally witness her chase after a landscaper that helped himself into our backyard without asking and even our pest guy gets it unless I send him through the front door first to get the "sniff check". If she runs off and you call her she comes back. She won't even eat her food until you nod to her that it's ok.

But I feel bad for this dog because James is always at work and she is always here with me, looking at me with big ole doggie eyes wanting me to pet her or show her some kind of love and I just can't. If I get up, she gets up and follows me then lays at my feet and looks at me longingly waiting for me to love her. Urgh...so I get up again and tell her to "Stay!" And she stares at me cock-eyed then when I walk away she sneaks behind me to whatever room I am in and crawls into a dark corner where I shouldn't see her but she sees me. I have labored many babes and when I labor my dog is there..this time not at my feet but lying down watching me, making sure I am ok. I'll even yell at her and tell her to go away because she stinks! She just sulks to a farther corner and circles around a few times before settling in but she won't leave. She just watches. Why?

Why does this dog love me so much? Seriously? I don't understand how an animal can have such amazing devotion and loyalty to someone who doesn't treat her as well as someone else would.

I wonder sometimes how much Rosie would thrive in another house. She seriously would. I know plenty of people who have asked to own her at several points through our lives together. My husband and my kids vehemently say "no." So, I sigh and I throw my fist in the air and I loudly proclaim, "Lord, why?!" But I know in my heart of hearts if anything happened to this hairy smelly beast I would be heartbroken. Grrrr.....