Gaze into the Eyes of a Dog
Dr. Pfister meets a new pup.
A lot can be learned from dogs…
I subscribe to a magazine called Sporting Classics, which has some amazing writers that write on various outdoor topics and, each month, an outdoor artist is debuted along with a celebrated writer-of-the-month. The last couple of issues have taken an in-depth look at how dogs affect our lives.
Before I get too much hate mail on why I don’t talk about cats, let me try to explain…
I grew up with dogs and the raising of collies particularly. When I started dating my wife, my cat education began. She had a Siamese. Now if you have ever heard a Siamese cat cry, it’s almost indistinguishable from a human baby… just with a bit more Stephen King eerie weirdness. Teko, my wife’s Siamese, eventually passed. At the time, we were about to be engaged; so, as an engagement gift, I bought her Taja (yes, another Siamese).
Taja lived for 19 years… why not, when you sleep 21 hours a day, eat for ½ hour, lick oneself for 1½ hours, return q-tips when thrown for ½ hour, and walk around bawling for ½ hour!
Suffice it to say I’ve never seen a hiking, fishing, or hunting magazine where a person engaged in such activity had a cat by his or her side. I have nothing against felines. I truly respect them because in any house where there is a cat and dog, we all know the cat is king. But as an all-around outside and inside companion, I would give the nod to the canine. And in my circle of close friends - all 5 of them - we love our dogs. And we know they love us!
I’d like to delve into what makes the dog-human relationship so special…
This past weekend the weather was amazing for a Northern Ohio January. I hiked several new trails with my Labrador Retriever, Mocha, who I have written about several times. Whenever I get ready to go, all I have to do is put my shoes on and Mocha is at the door. She loves riding shotgun in my Jeep.
Saturday, we were hiking and I sat down on a log to take in the view of the valley before us and sort of savor the moment. When I heard a soft voice, I turned around and an older gentleman asked if he could sit down with his Cocker Spaniel.
“Sure,” I said.
Both dogs were leashed and in a few minutes were the best of friends. The man spoke first, “Don’t know how I would have gotten through my chemo and rehab if not for Butch. Darn near never left my side!”
Seems a year before Covid, the man had been diagnosed with GI cancer and, after all the therapy, was now in remission… happy to be a survivor with his dog, Butch, by his side.
The man went on that, in the deepest depression of chemo, “Heck, all I had to do was look into Butch’s eyes and I just started to feel better. Damndest thing!” He kind of teared up a bit and wiped one eye.
We chatted for a while about how special our lives were with our canine partners. Appearing to be a restless type, the old man said, “Well, guess we’ll move along. Don’t want to be late for dinner. Thank you for the time.”
I smiled and shook his hand and wished him and Butch all the best for a healthy 2021.
But the old man really got me to thinking…
There is truly a unique and special bond that goes straight to our souls and beyond… that biblical, empirical bond between people and their dogs.
It’s one of life’s great pleasures to welcome a dog to one’s family. I feel that I became a better person with each of my dogs. They enrich each moment spent together with a true devotion and loyalty unmatched by any human counterpart. Like an artist’s broad brushstroke of color across a blank canvas, dogs bring a certain flavor and meaning to our everyday lives as they form that special bond with our hearts.
If you were to ask me or any dog-lover if we know what our dog is thinking, we would surely say of course. We all have our own instincts as to what our dogs are thinking and feeling, but can we ever be sure?
Not until recently. But at several universities in the United States (Emory and Yale among them) and at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, scientists have been developing brain imaging technology to study canine behavior. And through mapping various regions of the brain, they are actually beginning to see evidence of “love” for humans within the canine brain. Exciting stuff!
But the truth is, I don’t need the science to prove that our dogs love us. The proof is in the pudding. They’re the first to greet you when you get home. They’re the first to dive in, head first, on your next adventure. And their unwavering loyalty is unbreakable (just as the old man had his dog by his side throughout cancer treatments).
How do you put into words that journey from bringing home that plump little butterball you hold in your arms, until that tear-jerking moment when you’re holding its head in your hands and your eyes meet for the last time?
Dogs… they’re family. And if you’ve lost one, you know what I mean when I say it’s like losing a family member.
We could all learn a lesson or 2 from our dogs - how to be loyal, how to be enthusiastic about the simple things, and how to look at those we love… with innocent eyes… and assume the best in them.
I will leave you not with a song but with a thought from Mike Gaddis, Sporting Classics:
“We search within ourselves, within others, the world over. Oftentimes hopelessly, and even when sometimes we think we have found it, are fraught sooner or later with disappointment, never to find something that will faithfully last.
While constantly, only are we to remember, it bides by our side.
Gaze into the eyes of a dog.”
Have a great weekend Medina County,
- Dr. Pfister