Black Dog Beautiful

Black Dog Syndrome, a sad but true phenomenon. It’s said that black dogs don’t get adopted because some people consider them to be bad luck, too common, and they don’t seem to photograph well. Is this how people are picking their companions? I guess so because apparently more black dogs are euthanized than any other colour. We miss out on some of the best things in life based on choosing with our eyes, but, we all know, looks can be deceiving. We’ve all experienced what it’s like to choose the wrong human companion based on their looks. Luckily when we end the relationship you both move on to find your next love. Although it’s difficult, we have a choice in how we move forward. For an animal, there is none. There are times when an animal just comes into our lives, and there are times when we are actively seeking one. If we could just take the time to see the beautiful in every dog and have the patience to wait until that moment hits us where the true inner dog catches our attention. There are never any guarantees, but they all deserve a chance.

Here is an example of falling for a dog based on feel and not look. We were at the dog park one day and Chili was off playing in the muck when I felt a dog at my side. I didn’t look at it right away, I just put my hand around its head and started rubbing it. I felt an immediate connection with this dog. When I looked down, to my surprise, it was a Doberman. To be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of Dobermans. I guess I just always felt they were a little aloof and sketchy. For an instant, I had a short dream about taking her home and adding her to our family. That’s the impact she made on me. Every time she came close to me I couldn’t believe her beautiful energy. When her owner arrived I kept telling him over and over again, how wonderful she was. Thankfully, you could see how much he loved her. I was glad. So, there you go. I fell for her on first touch, not first sight, and she was a type of dog that in my mind at least, I didn’t think I liked. Lesson learned.

I’ve been lucky in my life to have shared time with two very different black dogs. First, there was Ruby, the reason I became a dog lover. She loved our little world, and didn’t care much for anything outside of it. If you weren’t petting her, you had no reason to be touching her. She would give you a dirty look, grunt, then move away. She shed like crazy and would wake us up in the middle of the night from her farts. We would have to hide under the covers. She would put up with my forced hugs and always looked at Brad with love in her eyes. She was the most beautiful girl in the world for us and I couldn’t imagine life without her. Then suddenly, life was without her. We still miss her.

This opened the door for Chili, the trickster with a love for life and everything in it. She wants everyone to touch her and believes everyone wants her to touch them, and she’s touched many. If you’ve been reading my posts, you already know about her, and you would already know that she chose us. She knew a good thing when she saw it. She knew right from the start, these two will put up with my tricks and give me the life I deserve. Imagine what would have happened if we looked her over because she was black. Chili seems to be my ‘meant to be dog’ in the way that Ruby was Brads. I know you’ve heard it before, but this beast has taught me a lot and pushed me to be stronger. We started out wanting a big, cool Newfie, or an impressive Great Dane, then at some point, we just stopped looking and started feeling. How lucky for us.