THE COLOR OF LOVE…

By Thursday, March 15, 2012 2 , , , Permalink

Why do I have dogs?

Why do you have a dog?

Why do you read and follow the adventures of two dogs?

“Medical studies around the world have concluded dogs encourage better health, and adopting one statistically boosts the life expectancy of both. Not only is a dog man’s best friend, but his presence could be better for you than an apple a day.

Dog owners worldwide enjoy longer lifespans on average, and the company a canine provides makes those extra years of life more gratifying. Positive health attributes dogs afford remain a constant for young and elderly alike, including weight maintenance, reduced blood pressure, and improved cardiovascular fitness.

The health advantages a dog offers is not restricted to ownership. Canines are employed in therapeutic situations at hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, and schools to offer stress management.
Another therapeutic arena where dogs are found is among traumatized military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The popular image is of a dog aiding a physically disabled veteran, retrieving dropped items, opening and closing doors, turning light switches on or off, carrying items, or alerting someone in case of an emergency. These dogs, by nature, lend their masters a friend and positive mindset too. Now, new breeds are trained specifically for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. They become skilled at spotting signs of stress, nervousness, or angst, responding by licking, cuddling, or demanding to be petted. The dogs refocus attention to themselves, coaxing veterans out of their consuming anxiety and making them aware of the temporary fixation. The heartening stories of these special dogs are legion.

As with everything in life, age can be a relevant or limiting factor to owning a dog. However, the positives of dog ownership seem to outweigh negligible and manageable negatives. Surveys targeted at pet owners 60 years and older showed less stress and loneliness, better nutrition, and a stronger focus on the present.

Even if scientific proof were lacking, people intuitively understand the benefits dogs have on their human companions. As author and essayist Gene Hill insightfully quipped, “Whoever said you can’t buy happiness forgot little puppies.”
ZITE Magazine

I love my husband and I adore my children, I really do, but the feelings I have for my two “canine kids” is indescribable!

To me, THEY are the color of LOVE

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2 Comments
  • tiffany
    March 15, 2012

    Love Leo and Harley so!!

  • Claudette Pope
    March 15, 2012

    Thank you for that. That was beautifully said. Now I have one more piece of info that I can use to convince my husband to let me have another doggy