Dogs

I grew up a "cat" person. I was the little girl that would exclaim, "Cats rule. Dogs drool!" I defended cats against the dog lovers for years, trying to argue that cats served a purpose.

Now, I own two dogs and zero cats. Their names are Ella and Marley. They were both pound puppies and they are both mutts.

Before Ella and Marley, there was Miles. My first "real" dog. I say "real" because we never really owned pets for long in my childhood home. They would mysteriously disappear all the time. So, Miles was the first dog I went out shopping for, researching for, and the first dog that couldn't be taken away by my Dad. Technically Miles was my husband's dog. He picked him out and named him, but Miles was always my baby.

He was the best first dog anyone could hope for. He was a Black Lab, full of energy, playful, and so full of love. He was the only Lab I've ever known to be afraid of water, but that just made him all the more endearing to me. He was STRONG. Not just in his sturdy body and whipping tail, but in his heart and desire to live.

Within hours of bringing him home from the pound, we discovered he had Parvo and they weren't predicting that he'd make it through. But, with a lot of love and an IV, he did!

Then, years later, when he escaped the house with Ella for a run through the neighborhood and was hit by a car, he proved his strength again. Even though a chunk of his chest hung between his front legs, and he was bleeding profusely, he walked up to me as if he was simply tired from a long walk and wanted to go home and take a nap. When the emergency vet said we should put him down, he was still trying to get up from the table and go home.

At first, I couldn't be convinced that he needed to be put down. This was the STRONGEST being I'd ever met. He was invincible. But, when the vet explained the damage and pain, it was I who had to be strong. I had to let him go, and then I had to find my husband and explain everything to him.

Needless to say, I'm a convert. I am a "dog" person now. Miles was the best representative of the K-9 family to convince me of their superiority.

So, it is understandable, how I am able to justify spending close to $3,000 (that I don't have) on knee surgery for Ella and emergency care for Ella and Marley after they ate pain meds.

How could we not try to save these dogs lives? They protect us, they love us unconditionally, they keep us warm in the cold months, they make us laugh and they do it all for a scratch behind the ears and a little food.