A Boston Terrier was my father's engagement gift to my mother. Another was my seventh-birthday gift. As I approach Medicare, for the first time in my life I don't have a Boston Terrier. My 10th one died recently at age 15. At some point during our dog's illness, my husband and I decided that this was our last dog. It was a rational, logical, and realistic decision based on our ages and circumstances. So why am I so uncommitted and unconvinced by it? This book reminded me.
Not everyone melts when they see a Boston Terrier. Buggy eyes and flat noses aren't most people's idea of doggy beauty. There are prettier dogs, bigger, fluffier, more colorful, more and less energetic, equally smart and funny. But there is more to these little creatures than their looks. Their personalities dovetail perfectly with mine and we understand each other. (Exactly what that says about me, I don't know). Every important moment in my life has been shared with, at least, one. I still come home and look down, I still check garden gates, I still look at dog toys at the grocery store.
The author is even more of a dog person than I am. She tells the story of, not only her own dogs, but of dogs she has provided foster homes for (something I admire tremendously in others and would never be able to do). Reading her book feels like having a conversation with a friend you have much in common with. She shares the good times along with the sadness and the every-day frustrations and inconveniences.
But most of all, she shares how these little loves who don't speak still manage to help you understand the complexities of life as well as the simple truths we might not have, otherwise, noticed. She shares how dog and human meet halfway to communicate with each other and fill each other's empty spaces; how they silently seem to bring out the best in us, and how they help us become more human as well as humane; how a dog relationship helps you develop virtues such as patience, loyalty, commitment, and unselfishness, as well as self-esteem and competence.
Her dogs and mine have had much in common and I confess to tearing up, now and then. But, just as in the real-life dog/human relationship, the joy far outweighs the pain.