Pets

Maybe not everyone feels the way that I do about my animals, but for those of you who know me well- you know I love dogs. I have always been partial to dogs. I even got the "most likely to steal a puppy" from the UCSD Women's Rugby Team. This is not (altogether) untrue.

One dog in particular was very special to me. This dog, Prince Charming, "Charm" as we called him, was my soul mate pet. If there was ever one dog meant for me, it was that wild dog. He loved me, and me more than anyone. I know because he was there for me when no one else could be. Through my parents divorce he snuggled up to me, while I stared up at the ceiling wondering what was going to happen to my family. When I balled my eyes out because I was failing math, didn't make section leader in band, struck out at the game, or found out I was gay- he didn't care. He could care less in fact. Charm was the most non-judgmental friend I ever had. He listened to everything I had to say, with a quiet thump of tail and sweet, chocolate brown eyes. Charm's boxy, dopey head always pushed itself gently into my chest when I was sad. And he definitely understood how I was feeling, even though I couldn't tell him. He knew if I was happy, bouncing around the room if I whooped and hollered over a funny joke. He never got the joke, he didn't knew why I cried, he didn't understand a lot of things, but he know how I felt and he loved me unconditionally. He may have even saved me from myself.

 There are very few human beings on the planet who ever love other people unconditionally. Our dogs, cats, and horses don't care what color we are. They don't care if you're a guy or a girl. They don't care what God you do or do not worship or who you fantasize about. They love you and treat you the same simply because you show them affection. People tend to think that because humans are the more intelligent creatures, we are the "superior" ones. Those who follow the Bible closely say that God gave Adam the duty of naming and caring for all the animals. However, I think our pets are the ones who are caring for us. We, as people didn't need to domesticate animals. Somewhere along the line of evolution, we chose to keep animals and tame them to live beside us. As companions. As friends. I loved that dog and one thing he taught me is that loving unconditionally is never wrong. We as people could learn a lot from our pets. I know I learned a lot from having that dog. So are we really the superior ones just because we're smarter? Is it really smarter to blow each other up over fear then to just accept each other as we are?

There's a reason that "Dog" spelled backwards is "God." I believe because that dog believed in me and loved me. I am to the person I am today because he was there for me to lend on and I don't think it was just a coincidence. I believe there is something bigger than myself, because my dog was there for me.

Prince Charming (1999- December 2011)