A LOVE FOR DOGS

      After reading the commentary below, please express your own thoughts.  Instructions on how to do so are written at the bottom of this column.  Thank you.

      It's National Dog Day...and the following is written in memory of Snoopy the Boxer...Buddy the Collie...Oliver the Shih Tzu...Bentley the Bernese Mountain Dog...Madison the Golden Retriever...and Gracie the Golden Retriever.  This composition is also dedicated to the life and continued living - and hopefully for many more years - of Kirby the Shih Tzu.

      In a world where hundreds of millions of people are sharing their personal views on everything from Facebook to Twitter...and in other social media forums...I ask that today - whether you've commented at The Controversy in the past or not - that you pour out a little piece of your heart...to honor and pay tribute...to the dog...or dogs...in your lives.

      If you're a regular reader of The Controversy, part of today's essay may seem familiar to you.  Going back in to the history of this publication...I had written some of the content for an earlier commentary.  But since today...Friday, August 26th, 2016...is National Dog Day...and because also today...I am celebrating the writing of my 200th column for this blog...I thought I would put politics and the Presidential election aside...and instead...share with you an assortment of personal thoughts about..."Man's...(and Woman's)...Best Friend."     

  

     According to the ASPCA...a dog can be found living in about 37 to 47 percent of all households in the United States.  So there's no doubt...that a great amount of you...either now...or at a previous point in your lives...have shared your homes - as I have - with dogs.  And, as all dog lovers will admit - with adoration...appreciation... and esteem - dogs are part of our families.
 
     We care for our dogs.  They eat with us...they play with us...and they sleep with us - sometimes in our beds.  We love our dogs...and they make us happy.  And in turn...they love us...and we make them happy.  People and dogs love each other.

     Dogs never lose their patience with us.  And they forgive us when we just don't feel up to tossing the ball.

     Dogs are loyal and devoted.  When we're ill...our "canine cousins" stick right by us.  Somehow they sense when we are sick...or when we're troubled...or when we're upset.  And when our dogs are not well...we will do absolutely anything...to make them better.  There is a special bond - unlike any other - between a person and a dog.

     Dogs truly are our best friends.  We can talk to our dogs.  And even though they can't speak back in a human form of vocal communication...they project their emotions...and are understanding...in other ways.  A lick on our face...or on our nose...can easily sway us...from sadness to smiles.  And when we pat a dog on his or her head...it can bring joy to both of us.

     It doesn't matter to dogs what color our skin is...or what religion we practice.  Dogs don't judge us for being rich or poor...young or old...male or female...Democrat or Republican...straight or gay.  Dogs are not prejudiced in any manner.

     Whether your dog is purebred or mongrel...a rescued pooch from your local animal shelter or one with a documented pedigree...when necessary to safeguard his or her human family...I can assure you that your dog will be courageous and brave. 

     Dogs of all sizes, shapes and colors serve in the military...and for police and fire departments.  And dogs have been known to alert their people...when danger is looming.   There's a published account about a remarkable seeing-eye dog...who - on September 11th, 2001 - sought out his blind master in one of the World Trade Center Towers...and led the man down an emergency stairwell...just minutes before the New York City skyscraper collapsed.

     Through intelligence, training or instinct...dogs have been known to alarm a second person...by barking...when a mortal family member has fallen or been hurt... suffered a heart attack or stroke...or are in some other type of distress.  Because we worry about our dogs...and protect our dogs...they worry about us...and protect us.  Dogs are forever faithful...and we rely on them for so much.  Some dogs will even lay down their lives...so one person...or many people...can live.

     Dogs cherish us...and treasure us.  Dogs provide unconditional affection and companionship.  Through thick and thin...good times and bad times...dogs stay by our sides.  World-famous American humorist, newspaper columnist, author and actor Will Rogers summed up dogs perfectly.  "If there are no dogs in Heaven...then when I die...I want to go...where they went."

     I can't imagine a world without dogs...as there is no other creature on Earth...as extraordinary...as a dog.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

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Photo credit: westernclippings.com (Will Rogers)

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