Positive Life: The Friendship of a Dog and its Owner(s)

The friendship of a dog and its owner(s) is a wonderful thing and I am so grateful to know what this friendship is like. I don't have many memories of our first dog but I have many memories of our second dog, our Golden Retriever named Angel who lived to the age of 14 years (which is a really good age for a Golden Retriever). She was such an amazing dog! Our dog now, our Golden Retriever named Finnlegh, is different from Angel but is amazing as well; although he does need more training.

Dogs are very intelligent. They can sense how people are feeling, for example, they can sense if a person is calm, fearful, etc. That's why people say that you need to be calm if you want your dog to be calm because they can sense it and they may reflect it. Finnlegh is very sensitive. If we're hyper, he's hyper. If we're angry at him for something bad that he has done, he knows it and reacts by going and lying down in a corner. We have this connection with dogs when it comes to emotion and I find it so fascinating!

Dogs are also incredible because they don't judge you by what you have done besides how you have treated them. If you treat a dog right, they will be your friend forever. I count Finnlegh as one of my best friends. More than that, he's a part of our family. I don't have to worry about the rest of the world while I'm spending time with him. I can just concentrate on the present moment and forget all of my worries. Dogs are very therapeutic.

I definitely count having a dog as one of the greatest things in life. You learn so much from them about life and they improve your life in so many ways.

-Kaylie