Today is Sunday and I am weary of all the problems of the world and the issues we need to fight with our government so I am turning to lightness of being today. It is also Father's Day so Happy Father's Day to all the fathers here on Townhall.

Above is a picture of a Pembroke Welsh Corgi that looks almost exactly like mine with a few minor exceptions.
My Corgi is named Dakota and I love him and cherish him like I would another human I loved as much.

Dogs are to be emulated from the standpoint that they give us love no matter what. They do not ask us to be handsome or pretty. They do not care if we are the smartest or dumbest person in the world. Dogs do not care if we are wearing the latest fashion or have the best in houses, cars, or any other material things.

They merely ask we give them some love, feed them and keep them by our side.

Dogs give us far more than we can ever give to them. Besides loving us, they guard us, they protect us, and they know when we feel bad. They will try to make us feel better too when we are sick.

Dakota knows when I am feeling blue because he will then resort to his comical side to make me laugh. He has a habit of getting under the curtains and peaking out from under them, staring at me with a  look that says,
"Do you think this is cute and does it make you laugh?" Of course it makes me laugh every time.

Dakota wakes me up when I sleep through my alarm. He stands by the bed, nudging me with his nose and barking to get me up. He wants to make sure I make it to work because I tell him before I leave for work that I have to go so that I can make money to buy us food. He usually accepts that pretty well when he hears the "food" part. Even though he does not want me to leave him, he knows I must bring home the "bacon".

If it is past the time Dakota usually gets fed, he will pick up something like one of my shoes and bring it to me and stare at me. His message, knowing he is not allowed to chew my shoes, is you better get my food woman, or I will eat your shoe. This makes me laugh also knowing it is his way of telling me he is hungry and the time is past due for his meal. He would never actually chew the shoe, so it is laughable how he uses this as a devise to warn me.

When I arrive back home, there is never any doubt how I will be greeted. He is always excited and happy to see me. No one has ever been excited and happy to see me everyday other than my dog. That is really special.

Dakota's tongue hangs out  like that picture when he is filled with joy. It doesn't take much,  a walk in the park, a game of catching the stick, and meeting new people which he loves to do. In the park, he has given many a senior citizen a much needed smile when he goes up to them to greet them. He seems to know which ones need a lift in their spirits as he "chooses" which ones he will greet. It never fails either. The elderly man or woman will tell me every time they needed that little bit of love that Dakota gave to them. They pet and fawn over him like he is a king and Dakota loves every minute of it.

He is so smart. I lost one of my favorite gloves while walking him one winter night. The next night before we walked, I showed him my glove, told him I lost one of them and I needed him to find it. I put it under his nose for the scent. So, we started our walk and about a mile and a half later, he darted off the sidewalk into someone's yard which I was going to discipline him for until I saw that he was bringing my glove to me. I would never have seen it as it was buried in the snow way off our track. Needless to say he received a lot of hugs for that.

When my father was dying of cancer, he asked that I bring Dakota with me when I came to visit him. My dad was bedridden and Dakota would jump up on the bed and smell down his mouth at the cancer that was eating him up. Dakota knew he was dying because he could smell death upon him.

One day while visiting my dad, he asked me if I would rub his back as it was hurting him so bad. So, I gently rubbed my dad's back while I talked to him about different things we had done together when I was a child. I was trying to give my dad a diversion from the pain he was suffering. My dad then said his butt area hurt him too and he could not get comfortable. Dakota jumped up on the bed and laid up against my father's backside and snuggled against him. Neither one of us could believe what Dakota had done even though we saw it with our own eyes. My dad said the warmth of Dakota up against him helped ease the pain in that part of his back where the cancer was raging also.

When the day came that Hospice had to take my dad away to die there, Dakota had to be with my dad the whole way. He wanted to jump into the ambulance with my dad, but that was not allowed. Once we arrived at Hospice Dakota was allowed to come in and be with my dad. Dakota immediately got into bed with him and tried to comfort him. As each grueling day passed while my father died, Dakota continued to give my dad much needed comfort that even the morphine could not give.

Our dogs are special to all of us. I know there are many dog lovers besides me who have similar stories and have shared them with me.

Watching my dog, seeing his instincts work miracles, and all the love and comfort he gives me is one of the most cherished experiences of  my life. And, when I hear that we " humans" are the most noble of creatures, I look at my dog and know that is not true. Dogs are more noble than we are. They do not judge us shallowly, but love us for who we are. Forgiveness is one of their greatest virtues and one from which we, as humans, can all learn.