a new friend for spencer
we’ll never fully understand dogs. so much of what they do and how they behave and interact with each other and us is a mystery. that’s the interesting part. for example, as you’ll see from the photo, spencer and his new friend henri seem to be pretty comfortable with each other, and they are. however, if little henri nears spencer’s water bowl while the big guy is drinking…..lookout. or if spencer is chewing a bone and henri tries to take it, not a pretty sight.
if there is a dustup, within seconds, literally, they are back to their friendly ways like it never happened; no grudges, no long conversations and apologies, neither dog trying to make up for bad behavior. it’s actually quite amazing if you think about it.
dogs live in the moment, and have no memory of what happened 5 minutes ago. the change in demeanor and behavior from rage to love, fear to comfort, is a fantastic manifestation of what makes them so different from us; and why we should remember not to treat them like people, but rather respect and embrace the primal instinct that lives inside each one of them; big or small in size, they are all wired the same.
so while i love this photo, i know it means something much more than just a cute image, and something i cannot fully understand, and therein lies the gift they bring to our lives if we let them; always mysterious; domesticated but wild. i love the duality of it.
finally got caught up on your 2010 blogs…looks like I missed a few. They are wonderful memories. And your dog looks so handsome in all the photos. He’s really that good looking, if not better, in person, I think. Some people never have the opportunity to reflect back on their lives like you have, and some don’t have time to think about their current life and their dogs, cats, friends, dads, mothers, loves. You’re very lucky. mom