The Happy Musing for the Day: Dogs have their place in a home, usually at the head of the family.

Don’t you just love dogs? They have as many personalities as people, but they are not people. Yet those dog lovers among us who hold their dogs in such high regard are not quite so sure. This is what I have noticed: those people who love their dogs beyond all else, make them the center of attention in most situations and in some cases – head of the household.

There are a million types of homes and living situations and a million types of dogs to go with them. Some dogs have the benefit of being able to run freely on a farm or ranch. Some may be lucky enough to have a backyard to romp in. Still others are restricted to life inside a home or an apartment. And none of this seems to have anything to do with the size of the dog. Once a person falls in love with a dog, that person makes room for that dog within his or her particular living space.

To me a dog is still a dog. I welcome them in my gallery. I play with them, flirt with them, give them a pat on the head and a bowl of water. I see them and interact with them as if they were young children – playful, cuddly, but destined never to grow up. I enjoy many dogs in my life – my son’s dogs, the dogs on my walk to work, the dogs that stop by the gallery and say hello, but I do not own one and one does not own me.

I have owned dogs in the past and that is probably why I wrote this verse. We had a dachshund who was nothing more than a Hitler. He ruled our every move. We had to trick him into being captured in order to isolate him when we wanted to go out for dinner. Then there was the sweetest dog we ever had – Sara. Picked up by the pound people, she was found roaming the streets with her pup. The pup was adopted first. Then we got Sara. She lay at my feet for hours while I painted. I found the most incredible home for her to go to when I knew I was no longer going to have space for her. We said our goodbyes and she never looked back. I have never really been an “owner” of a dog, more like a holding tank until the proper owner came forward. I have loved my dogs and I can see why they can easily be head of a family.

“Life is wonderful!”

Copyright 2008 Sally Huss