5 Reasons Why My Dog’s a Better Person than I

So I’m standing in my living room, thinking of what to write about, and I look to my left and see my dog, my beautiful dog, asleep on the couch. And that was that. The perfect topic, right there.

Frank came into the Jaffe family over three years ago, and nothing has been the same since. Every day I walk and feed my buddy, every day he gives me so much love, and even though it’s fairly unlikely he’ll read this post, he needs to know how much I care.

So without further ado, five reasons why my dog is a better person than I am:

1) My Dog Loves People, All People

Covid has been tough for all of us. Though for some much more than others. There are plenty of folk out there enjoying their perfect excuse to avoid any and all social engagements. And there are those of us who are desperately hoping to fill our homes with guests once again.

And then there’s Frank. My dog loves new people. Within moments of meeting them, he has a new best friend. No awkward first moments. He sees them, and they’re pals.

And my home has offered him more than enough opportunities to meet people from all over the world.

Sadly, I think my pooch might be a little depressed. I think he misses all the guests even more than I do!

And even though my dog might prefer the ladies, and has other preferences (as we’ll see below), he loves people of all kinds and wants them in his life.

2) My Dog Loves When We Come and Hates When We Go

We human folk get used to things quickly. People come and go from our households. We don’t bat an eye.

But not Frank. He gets excited when we come home. He runs to the door. Even if I just went to take out the trash for three minutes, he’s still so happy that I’ve returned. And then he’s super ecstatic to get any and all attention when I’ve rejoined the household.

And when any of us leaves, Frank follows us to the door, then hops over to the window to watch us going.

There’s no such thing as too much time together. He’s always happy when we’re there, and he’s always sad when we’re not.

I wish I had a fraction of Frank’s love, admiration, and excited attention for people!

3) My Dog is Quirky… and He Owns It

We might have the quirkiest dog in the world. I’ve often contemplated his top wackiest quirks. His weird, funny head movements and alien-esque noises before throwing up. His obsession with perching his head under our feet. His rapid and repeated circles before going to the bathroom. The list goes on and on.

Admittedly, Frank is an odd dog. We’re all very well aware. People who meet him catch on quite quickly as well.

But you know what, I’m arguably pretty darn weird too. I have trouble remembering things in pairs (more than that is OK, but two is where the problem lies). I enjoy eating cheese with peanut butter. I hate mango in my salsa, sugar in my pickles, and tahini in my hummus. And I can’t stand the song Happy by Pharrell Williams.

But I also know when I’m odd. And there’s a small part of me that’s even shy or embarrassed to admit when my thoughts, opinions, or behaviors are out of the ordinary.

Not so with Frank! He is an odd duck, he knows it, and he owns it. Every single day!

4) My Puny Dog Has No Idea How Small He Is

Watching my pooch play with other dogs is often a real pleasure. He has endless energy and he’s extraordinarily social. He’ll often inspire the other dogs to match his energy level. At first the other dog will be lazy and just sniff around. And before you know it, the two cute fluff balls are flopping all over the place.

One of the many things I love about my dog is how unaware he is of his size. He’ll play with dogs of all sizes. And he’ll try and wrestle with dogs that are easily five times his size. He couldn’t care less.

And I love it.

I feel like we human folk are often painfully aware of our size, whether it be literal or metaphorical. We are afraid of those around us with power or perceived power. We suck up. We cower. We sit back and let things happen around us, quiet and fearful that we’ll say the wrong thing in front of the wrong person.

But in the eyes of Frank, all dogs are equal. There is no status. There is no strength or size. Everyone is potentially the next dog to run around with him in the park.

5) If You Dislike My Dog, He Loves You Even More

The general rule with my pooch is if you want him to give you lots of attention, there’s two ways to make that happen.

The first way is to be the messiest eater around. If there’s a pile of food at your feet every time you finish eating, you can bet that there will be a Frank waiting to help clean up the mess.

The other rule: Frank likes those who dislike him the most.

I’ve had many a group at my home where some guests tried desperately to get him over so they could pet him. They were virtually ignored. Whereas another guest was afraid of dogs, didn’t like dogs, or just would prefer some no-dog time. And they would always be looking down to see a cute, furry face that said, “Hey, why not me?”

It’s so easy to discount the people in our lives who we don’t particularly like or have much to benefit from their existence.

But they’re people too. They have stories. They have thoughts and opinions. They have dreams and aspirations.

Frank won’t take “no” for an answer while trying to love those people. Why should we?