Dogs! By Tim Flanagan

Dogs are great! I love dogs! They are loyal. They will protect you. They want and give love. You can train a dog. Wow humans could learn a lot from dogs! When was the last time you caught your dog sniffing around the neighbor dog telling him all your business? Dogs don't care about money. Dogs are also not aware. We know our situation. We know we are born to die. A dog has no such stress attached. A dog’s stress is determined by it's owner. Dogs are heroes! They save because they are trained to and have the desire to do so. They are fearless because a dog does not anticipate but reacts. Noble but goofy. Strong yet submissive. Loyal no matter the treatment. My dogs do not even whine when they are hungry. How often per day do we all complain? The need for empathy from others is part of the human experience. Is it a bad thing? No! More annoying but essential. I can't ever remember the last time my dog shimmied up to me and started complaining about everything. They are happy with the silent bond they share with a beloved master or a fellow furry friend.  

I often question, in a humorous way, why we were designed the way we are. I know we are meant for more than we are. Today is today, and tomorrow is unpredictable. It could happen! Dogs! What if we were designed differently? Say we look like we look, ridiculous! Say we have our human intelligence! Well at least some of us. Think if we were designed with some of the abilities and traits of a dog? How would life be different? For one thing, handshakes would be gone. Though I'm not sure which one would be more disgusting as a gesture of greeting. Tails! I don't think I would want a tail. Sometimes I look at my dogs wrestling and I think, yikes it is going to break! Tails seem cumbersome. It may be one of the things you can choose at birth! Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Smith, it’s a child! "Oh thank you doctor"! Did you folks want a tail or no tail? Your wife looks at you like it is a consideration. Have you ever stood behind someone in line with a tail? They get all excited and next thing you know their tail is smacking you in the knees? So, no tail. A stub! I even like the way it sounds, stub! You know we humans just love our extremities. If we had a stub, we would put a ring on it. Paint it like a candy cane for Christmas. Does my stub look fat in this dress? 

I am not sure about this whole going to the bathroom whenever and wherever you want. With my luck I would step in my own mess! You know how mad you get when you step in your dogs, I could only imagine. I wouldn't want the keen sense of smell dogs have. The world is too stinky as it is! Now the keen hearing a canine has, now that would be awesome! Or would it? It is hard enough now to live in private in a world without privacy. I wouldn't want to give up a hot shower for a slimy tongue. I am easily amused as a dog who chases his tail. Howl at the moon! Who says I don't? How about you? If a dog lived longer, I would be glad to be a dog at my house. With my luck, I would be a beaten bait dog with no hopes of death to escape the fear and pain. Hope is a human trait. Dogs live for the moment and the anticipation of tomorrow. Beyond that they do not stress. The one thing I value more than my fellow humanity...dogs!