海角大神

Our rescue dog Albie has been with us a little more than a year now.

The shy, tentative creature who鈥檇 been found wandering alone in central Louisiana, and who was just days away from being euthanized in a kill shelter, is now very much at home.

The dog that didn鈥檛 bark for weeks now uses his 鈥渙utdoor voice鈥� to engage other dogs we meet on our walks. The dog who wouldn鈥檛 even venture upstairs now makes himself at home in our bed. The dog that waited for attention now comes into the office as I type, looks up expectantly with ball in mouth and, if I don鈥檛 respond immediately, begins pawing my leg to let me know it鈥檚 time for a game.

You learn a lot about a dog in a year. You also learn a lot about yourself. Here are some of the things I鈥檝e learned.

First, my tolerance for dog hair on the carpets and sofas, and mud on the leather seats in my car, is much higher than I thought possible. I still prefer things clean and neat, but there are some things you just have to let go. When you are over the moon for your dog you can overlook a lot.

Second, my capacity for loving an animal is far greater than I knew. When I look into those deep brown pools he has for eyes, when he cocks his head to one side as if to say 鈥渄on鈥檛 go鈥� when I leave the house, when he rolls over completely onto his back and rests his head in my lap 鈥� one way he says 鈥渂elly rub, please鈥� 鈥� I鈥檓 all his.

Third, all those cutesy pictures and videos people post on Facebook and YouTube of their dogs, the ones I always thought were for people with too much free time and not enough human contact? Some of them really are worth watching. I saw one the other day of a black lab puppy who goes downstairs by sliding on his belly. Boy, was that ever worth ten seconds of my time. Just adorable.

Fourth, having a dog lick your face isn鈥檛 as gross as it sounds.

Fifth, never mind the US Postal Service: neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, stays a dog from his appointed rounds, though they aren鈥檛 always swiftly completed and you have to go with him. There鈥檚 just no hiding from the weather when you have a dog.

Sixth, dogs, even wet dogs, smell better than I thought.

Seventh, dogs are great stress reducers. They don鈥檛 care that the car needs a new oxygen sensor, that the upstairs sink needs a $400 repair or that you have 26 errands to run in the next hour. If they have a stick or a tennis ball, life is good. A dog helps put things in perspective. I think that explains why my mother-in-law, who was in disbelief when we told her we were adopting a dog, wondering why we鈥檇 want to take on that responsibility, now asks if Albie can come with us when we visit.

Finally, I鈥檝e learned that those lyrics from the theme song from 鈥�Toy Story鈥� apply in spades when it comes to a loving dog: You鈥檝e got a friend in me. Isn鈥檛 that right, Albie?