Of Dogs and Men...

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. ~Ben Williams

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace. ~Milan Kundera

I'm fairly certain the last time I was happy - I mean, really and truly, incalculably happy - was when I had a dog. Or dogs, as it was.

Dogs are the ideal companion. They are often better companions than human friends because even though they may eat your shoes and shit on the carpet (most humans do neither, if you're lucky), a dog is loyal and loving. And even the worst dog is glad to see you when you come home. They lick your face and wag their tails with unbridled joy when they receive your time and attention. And what's even better? When you pour out your heart and soul to your canine companion, they just listen with trusting ears and a gaze that says, "I'm here for you, pal."

Human friends, on the other hand, will fail you. It's a matter of fact. Hell, we all fail ourselves from time to time, so it's statistically impossible that we can never fail another person. We humans are fallible, in so many ways. Such is life, I suppose.

But what I cannot fathom is how so-called "friends" will acknowledge a friend experiencing a bout of stress or other typical life event that renders them needy (and/or a total basket case) and otherwise incapable of thinking/acting clearly and say to them, "Our friendship isn't over, but I'm going to put some distance between you and me for a while until you get your shit figured out."

Really? WTF?!?

That's like seeing someone's house burning down and telling them, "Well, I hope you get that under control. Good luck with all that, but I'm going back to my own life and whatever shows I've recorded on DVR."

I mean, WHAT. THE. FUCK.

What kind of friend watches passively while your house burns down (metaphorically speaking) or while your life literally crumbles around you?

I have no answers. I only have first-hand experience that has taught me a few things: when the road of Life gets bumpy, you're sometimes better off having a dog. Even if that means you have a favorite pair of shoes you can no longer wear because Fido has turned one into a chew toy. Because at the end of the day, having a trusted companion with four legs is better than having several hundred fair-weather, two-legged companions of the human kind who walk away when things get rough. (Ruff?)

Note to self: consider getting a dog, and soon...