Acquiring and maintaining a four-legged friend brings with it a host of hassles and challenges. This includes responsibility for the dog's behavior, the costs of training, food, and veterinary care, the inability to take the whole family on vacation because there's no one to leave their pet with, and even the unfortunate discovery of red fur stuck to the hem of a black evening dress that almost looks like Chanel.
But a dog owner can also tell you how much benefit and joy a dog brings to life. What are the undeniable and compelling benefits of dog ownership?
1. New friends and business connections.
Walking a dog, its owner makes a ton of new friends. If a person is lonely or has difficulty communicating, they're sure to find like-minded people on a dog trail and strike up a fascinating conversation. Oh, those wonderful, eternal topics that excite a dog owner: shows, claws, vaccinations, illnesses, vitamins, fleas, worms!
Life will bring a dog owner together with the most unexpected people, and who knows, maybe among them he will find his other half or his closest friend!
My colleague, for example, met her future husband thanks to her dog, and I met my best friend, who later became my daughter's godmother, the director of the company where I worked for almost five years, and even the owner of the garage who rented it to us for a Ford truck.
2. An excellent replacement for fitness and solarium.
By taking long walks with a dog, its owner will gain a healthy complexion, a natural tan, and lose extra calories that cunningly entered his body during a hearty lunch or dinner.
My cheeks begin to glow with a tan as early as March, and by June I'm as bronzed as an Indian princess. Friends eagerly ask me about my magical metamorphosis and ask me to share my recipe for youth and beauty. I eagerly reveal it, and it begins like this: first, you get a dog…
3. Security of home and property.
No burglar would dare to enter someone else's apartment without an invitation if he heard angry barking and a terrible roar as he approached the door.
I'm not afraid to open the door to strangers. In fact, I've become so relaxed in recent years that I haven't even looked through the peephole on the front door in a long time, although I'm probably wrong to do so. I boldly open the door to plumbers, electioneers, and female informants because right next to me in the doorway, practically shoulder to shoulder, paws spread wide, head cocked forward, stands a serious red dog, his menacing demeanor warning against any possible vile insinuations or provocations.
4. Raising children.
A dog is a child's best friend and caregiver. When a little person has a big, kind, strong plush playmate, they won't want to sit for hours in front of a computer screen, competing with a car in shooter games. Interacting with a dog will help a child understand the meaning of words like “care” and “responsibility.” A child raised with a dog will never be cruel to animals, torment cats in basements, or tear off butterflies' wings.
My daughter recently shared her dream with me. She wants to be a doctor when she grows up, but not a human doctor, but one who treats insects. They need help even more than humans, she believes. It's so funny to watch her put some random bug she's discovered to bed: she gives it her room, goes off to play in the study, and makes us all whisper.
5. Resisting glamour.
A lack of fashionable clothes and shoes can ruin anyone's mood for a long time, but not a dog owner! After all, dog owners are the kind of group that welcomes everyone as family, regardless of their clothing style or hairstyle, and doesn't look askance at other people's sneakers from the spring collection “New Arrivals on the Vietnamese Market 2000.” Dog walking gear is evaluated primarily for its comfort and functionality.
As my friend, the owner of a pit bull, used to say: you can't tell a summer resident or dog owner from a homeless person. We'd put on rubber boots and go for walks with the dogs far beyond the grove, away from people, asphalt, and other amenities of civilization, to give the animals the opportunity to run freely without a leash. And, returning from our walks, we'd look absolutely picturesque, splashed head to toe with water from every puddle, thanks to the efforts of our happy dogs.
6. Therapeutic and psychotherapeutic effect.
Dogs are no less talented doctors than cats. They not only read their owner's mood but also respond to their well-being, helping them cope with illness.
When I have a cold, the dog lies down next to me, rests its head on my chest, and even hugs me with its paw. It warms me and takes away my pain. And if I cry, the dog licks my tears and hypnotizes me with the long, unblinking gaze of a long-lived sage, and then the huge icy mass of my problems melts and turns into a small, harmless puddle.
7. Closeness to nature.
Living in a big city, you're unlikely to remember the days when the first yellow coltsfoot flowers appear in spring, or when a family of red-breasted bullfinches arrives in the park in winter. But while walking your dog daily in the grove, you can easily notice how the autumn sky brightens and fades with the onset of cold weather, and hear the loud, grumbling sound of a poplar leaf falling to the ground. Perhaps this moment will also inspire reflection on the frailty and transience of life, and you'll immediately want to do something truly good and important for all of humanity.
I absolutely love these unexpected gifts of nature: suddenly seeing a nimble squirrel leaping up a tree almost right in front of my nose, a stately toad crossing the path with dignity and businesslike air, and bustling ducks greedily snatching up pieces of bread thrown to them. And I realize that if I didn't have a dog, I would have overlooked all of this while strolling through the shoe and jewelry departments of stores.
8. Selfless love.
A dog's love and devotion are the most reliable constants in our world. The weather outside, the exchange rate, and the names of coworkers may change, but a dog will always maintain its love and loyalty to its owner until the end of its canine life.
When I come home, my dog greets me at the door: she's not afraid to miss the latest news or an important phone call. She's happy to see me, not because I'm about to fry some cutlets, or help her draw a horse, or finally take her blood pressure, as my loving family so expects. She's happy that I simply exist. People once wrote a beautiful song about this kind of love, the Spanish “Blues for My Dog”:
I have a dog,
More accurately,
I have a piece of soul,
And not just a dog.
I love her and sometimes
I really sympathize with her:
My poor dog has no dog.
And when I feel sad…
Do you know what a dog means?
When are you sad?
…And so, when I feel sad,
I hug her around the neck
And I tell her:
“Dog, do you want me to be your dog?”
