A dog is man’s best friend. If you don’t believe me, lock your wife and your dog in the trunk of the car, and let me know which one is happy to see you when you return.
We went to Nancy’s sister’s AirBnB to meet them for lunch. I decided to take Lexi for a quick walk before I went in. Four people walked out of a townhome across the street – a young man in his thirties, a middle-aged couple, and an elderly man struggling to get around even with the aid of a cane. They asked about Lexi, and the two younger men each patted her; the elderly man tried two or three times, but each time he repositioned his cane to bend down, she was spooked and withdrew.
The elderly man remained after the other three walked on. He was so intent on patting Lexi that he kneeled, which is not an uncommon approach to a skittish dog. He layed down his cane on the sidewalk. Then he proceeded to prostrate himself on the sidewalk, reaching one arm out to Lexi. This was the moment that Nancy called and wanted to know where I was. I couldn’t explain that I had an old man who had just laid down on the sidewalk to pat Lexi, so I simply said I would catch up with her shortly.
Fortunately, Lexi went to him. I thought I might need to help him get up – it was an arduous process, but he made it, and I didn’t embarrass him or me by offering help. As we chatted for several more minutes, he looked at me with all sincerity and said, “You know who my best friend is? My dog. He would save my life even if it cost him his own.” This was a guy who had been around the block a few times – he even went to KU with Wilt Chamberlain! – and he was explaining that his dog is his best friend. I believed him . . . and I understand why.
Research has shown that the number of dogs as pets has increased somewhat consistently, from about 68 million in 2000 to approximately 90 million in 2019. These 90 million dogs are spread across 63 million households.
For perspective, the pet dog population is 90 million and the resident population is 331 million people. Sixty-three million households have at least one dog, out of about 121 million households; slightly more than half of the households in the US have a dog! Another interesting calculation I made is that there are about 25 dogs per square mile in the US (why did I even bother to calculate that – fun fact!).
The point being that dogs are very popular. So popular that they have created their own pop-culture icons. Think about Old Yeller, Rin Tin Tin, and Lassie. (I once worked with a woman who was bumped from her first-class airline seat so Lassie could have it. She couldn’t get upset – it was Lassie!) Animated dogs include Pluto, Scooby-Doo, Clifford, and perennial favorite, Snoopy, who shows up every time Charlie Brown celebrates a holiday. Movies have given us “Turner & Hootch,” “Marley & Me”; and who could forget, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
According to the American Kennel Club, “From Washington’s Foxhounds to Obama’s famous Portuguese Water Dogs, presidential pups are as traditional as baseball and apple pie. Almost all of our presidents have shared the White House with a dog.” Many presidents had more than one dog: George Washington’s 30+ hounds were the genesis for the American Foxhound. “Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Scottish Terrier “Fala” reportedly received more fan mail than many presidents did.” And his “Great Dane named ‘President,’ … made things confusing in the White House.”
In keeping with First Family tradition, “George [H.W.] Bush owned an English Springer Spaniel named Millie, who is the author of a dogobiography called ‘Millie’s Book.’” While the elder Bush’s son – George W. Bush – was president, he “owned an English Springer Spaniel named ‘Spot’ [who was] daughter to Millie.” (Did you know that there is a Presidential Pet Museum? One of its interesting facts: “Until the last administration it had been more than 150 years—since Andrew Johnson in the 1860s—that the White House was absent a pet.” Hmm)
Time named rescue animals the “2020 Pet of the Year. At the pandemic’s outset, as the economy was shutting down and millions of people were losing their jobs, animal rescue organizations feared that intakes would increase significantly, and adoptions would trend down. The opposite proved to be the case. Nancy volunteers one day a week at a local animal shelter, and every week she tells me about a dog who found its “forever home” that week.
People were suddenly required to stay-at-home. They found that the paucity of social interaction created a void. They filled the void by adopting pets. The Times article told of one woman who quarantined following a Covid illness who adopted a dog she named Fauci “because ‘he has a white coat and was abandoned during COVID.’” The increase in adoptions is “a trend that doesn’t surprise longtime pet owners like Caitlin McCarthy, who understands firsthand how comforting animals can be, especially in times of stress or isolation.”
The article explains that “the emotional support that pets can offer their owners is more crucial than ever in this moment, says Rachael Silverman, a psychologist specializing in couple and family psychology who often prescribes emotional support animals for patients. ‘With so much uncertainty and instability, animals provide people, especially children, with unconditional love, support, and comfort as well as serve as a distraction,’ she says.”
Our 16-year-old dog, Jude, was losing his eyesight, and his hips were getting so rickety that I carried him outside to the grass to save him the extra steps from the door. Walks were out of the question. But we discovered that our neighborhood was filled with dogs, and they were being walked like never before. We developed a pattern that was a little strange, to say the least: we set up lawn chairs inside the front door and watched people walking by with their dogs. (We recognize more neighbors by their dogs than we do by the humans at the other end of the leash!)
One rescue dog we met is named Chief. His destiny was dark when the breeder discovered his deformity – his front legs were shorter than his hind legs – not a characteristic desired for any breed. The neighbors who saved Chief from his dark destiny walked him past our house 3 or 4 times a day, usually looking to see if we were watching, and giving us a wave if we were. Since they have stopped working from home and returned to their offices . . . and we are no longer sitting at the front door . . . we rarely see Chief. In fact, we don’t see many of the dogs as often as we used to.
All of our dogs have been rescue dogs. We’ve rescued four Keeshonds over the past three-plus decades. You can’t find Keeshie rescues anymore, and puppies sell for $1,000 to $4,000, depending on breeders and “show quality.” We loved our rescues every bit as much as we would have if we had bought them from a breeder.
Each of our dogs had a unique personality. It was always so fun to see their differences in behavior and attitude. Today, we think back to them and relish each memory that is triggered by something in our lives. You’ll get to meet each of them in future posts. But the constant among all of them is their capacity for love. They were joyful in their greetings when you returned from any absence, whether a quick trip to the store or a long day of work.
Dogs have earned their place in our hearts. As quoted above, Rachael Silverman said, “. . . animals provide people, especially children, with unconditional love, support, and comfort. . ..” And we might add devotion, as the following video illustrates.
Note: The t-shirt graphics in this essay are from Life is Good®. I love their shirts and highly recommend them. Quality materials and creative messages. This is not a paid endorsement . . . though I’m open to consideration! 🙂
Mike's Fountain Pen 
Such a heart warming story. Dogs are truely man’s best friend. Rescue a dog and have a forever friend.
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