A Girl Needs A Dog - Why Your Child Needs A Canine Friend

A girl needs a dog.

The pictures above were taken by my daughter. Our dog is a patient and beloved photo model.

A friend recently told me the story of her son at circle time (what the Americans call Show and Tell).

She had gone into to Parents’ Evening and the moment her son’s teacher saw her, the teacher started to weep.

My friend was alarmed, and thought that her son had been doing something very wrong in school. The teacher tried to compose herself, but all she could manage to say, between sobs was, “A boy … needs… a doooooog”.

Apparently, each week when they had circle time, my friend’s son had proudly shown a picture of “his dog”.

Each week it was a different dog. A picture torn from a newspaper, or a magazine.

They didn’t have a dog.

The teacher told my friend, that she cried every week for that poor boy who didn’t have a dog.

I love this story, and think of it often when I see the joy that our little dog has brought to our family. She is patient, loyal and kind. When the children are sad or hurt, she jumps onto their knees to comfort them. My son is not good at getting up in the morning, so the dog is sent in to snuffle and cuddle with him until he gets up. Once she starts licking his face, he generally gives in and gets up.

So this week, if you have a dog, give it an extra treat and a cuddle and say thank you to your dog for being there for you. For the comfort and the companionship.

9 Comments

LittleMe

December 12, 2011 at 3:53 pm Reply

Oh, what a lovely post. Every day I’m grateful for my dog. Even when I have to mop the floors free of muddy footprints several times in one morning. Unquestioning love and loyalty.