Dog (and cat)

15 of 40

A little Dog that wags his tail
And knows no other joy
Of such a little Dog am I
Reminded by a Boy

Who gambols all the living Day
Without an earthly cause
Because he is a little Boy
I honestly suppose – 

The Cat that in the Corner dwells
Her martial Day forgot
The Mouse but a Tradition now
Of her desireless Lot

Another class remind me
Who neither please nor play
But not to make a ‘bit of noise’
Beseech each little Boy –

Emily Dickinson

Why do we love dogs?

They are not us, but of us. Some love cats, but they are not of us, and we want them to be, Perhaps that makes them of us.

But most simply love dogs. Is it because most dogs simply love us?

The fish that tend the whale, nibbling on the ick of its skin do not love the whale, but are fed through him. The dogs are fed by humans, but they love us, too. Cats are fed and they leave the bowl with unneeded food. Do they love us?

Like us, the dogs often eat without knowing if they are hungry – they eat until the bowl is empty. And then they beg for more until distracted. Like us.

Is dependency love? Of a kind. Do cats love us? Of a kind.

Does the grass love the earth? Does the bird love the air? Do we love God?

I would guess yes, without knowing.

But dogs know they love us. And we love them. Is that the chicken or the egg of love? Is it a perfect dance, or a trigger?

I love dogs so much that I do not have one. I could never give the dog the love the dog deserves. Many I know say the same about having children. Some even feel themselves unlovable.

Dogs just love. And love. And love.

There is no reason, no ick to eat from our soul skin. Dogs would love us if we had no food for them. If we do not know if we loved them, They love the evil, the incoherent, the completely compromised. Dogs love.

In Lent, death is the quiet way to love. Understanding how inevitable end is part of an unending love is the Easter end that is a revelation of what is always there. Love. And when our dogs die, many feel a pain that is as shocking as the love we feel for a thing we own. A pet. A love.

We are completely broken by the thing that has made us – love. We should not be surprised, but we are. We should not care that a man deemed criminal was murdered 2,000 years ago by a state in self-preservation – the furthest thing from love.

But I am ever shocked that we kill love. But we do. Our dogs can teach us.