“…You wanna know what love is…” (Get a dog…)
I’ve had three dogs of my own, over the years. The first was “Tinka” a very small, very sensitive miniature Doberman Pinscher. She was loyal to me in a way that one rarely experiences loyalty. She would slip beneath the covers of my bed, at night, and snuggle up by my toes. If, for some reason, I got up at night she shot out from under those covers like a rocket launched to the moon, ready to launch her full ten pounds at whatever threat might be lurking. And while she adored me, and tolerated the rest of my family, she had very limited patience for strangers, particularly strangers that sat too close to me or tried to put their arm around me. Just ask my husband’s fingers – they still bear the scars from when he would come over while we were dating – and attempt to get a bit too friendly.
And then there was Frisky. A puppy we found being given away, with his litter mates, on a street corner in Falmouth, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. My husband was in the Air Force, and I had two young children and the last thing I needed was a puppy but, there he was, looking up at us with those big eyes and that tiny wagging tail and I knew it would be useless to resist. He formed an attachment with my son that was so intense it was palpable. When we moved to a house in Valley Cottage, New York, Frisky was by my son’s side, night, and day – and woe be to anyone – no matter how big or intimidating, that seemed in any way threatening to my son. Their relationship was almost mystical.
Then came Samson. A very large, very slow-thinking German Shorthair Pointer. He was with us the longest and, while a bit difficult to understand his motives sometimes, was always there, first thing in the morning, last thing at night, with (what I called) “happy tail,” big liquid eyes and a very large, very wet tongue. Once, when I was recuperating from surgery and a friend would come over to look in on me, she had to pull Samson away from my bed and drag him outside for a few minutes. He would sit for hours, eyes watching, head inching closer to my pillow – waiting for me to start being me again. Dogs are amazing!
I am currently the grandmother/great-grandmother to twelve – that’s right – twelve dogs. Almost all of them are rescues. All of them, I say without hesitation, are small, large, and medium-sized bundles of love. One of them greets me so exuberantly, I end up covered in wet tongue and scratches. It’s almost as if she is seeking a way to say, “I love you” emphatically enough to leave no doubt in my mind. If I were to find a way to describe dogs to someone who had never known one, I would say – picture love, at its purest and most intense – asking nothing, giving everything, that is the very definition of a dog.
I know I’ve written about dogs before but, it occurred to me as I sat down to mull over what I would write about this week, that dogs are not only a light in our lives, but their lives should be a light that guides us, instructs us as to what is possible, encourages us to give more and ask for less. Our world, it seems to me, is in dire need of the lesson’s dogs can teach us; love, loyalty, trust, and perhaps, best of all, honesty. Dogs are not deceitful; they simply are who they are. There are the funny ones – the serious ones – the frantic ones – and the ones who simply want to spend their days cuddling. If only we could find a way to be as open and honest with one another as our dogs are with us – what a beautiful, kind, peaceful world we could create.
The love of a dog is a bit magical as we really don’t do all that much to deserve it. Oh, we do tummy tickles, ball throwing, walks in the woods, treats slipped under the table but, let’s be honest, in the scheme of things nothing really all that grand. And yet they love us. They live for us and would die for us. They come into this world without any expectations and, I believe, leave this world without regrets. They are light at its purest, joy at its most contagious, comfort at its kindest. And, if we would let them, they could teach us all we’d ever need to know about loving and being loved.
“You wanna know what love is…” – get a dog!
You “wanna know what love is…”
…seek it in their eyes
they have no concept for deceit
or lies they speak it
with a warm wet tongue
a wagging tail a body wriggling
like butter in a heated pan
aspire to no great rewards
more than enough
a loving touch
of someone’s hand
a gentle voice the purpose
of command
you
“wanna know what love is…”
seek it where it lives
not in the pantomime of words
the frailty of
things
not smiles that never own
the eyes
that try but never quite begin
to reach beneath the skin
to where you live
dogs
smile they do lit up
like stars
that celebrate the sky
they live for you they’d die
for you
are the center of
their everything
what is love I promise you
you’ll find no greater truth
of love than this
two bright adoring eyes
a furiously wagging tail
a body
blossoming
beneath your glance
your touch you simply being
you at its purest
love
is a dog
the ultimate bliss
Susan A. Katz (All rights reserved)
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