The Transformation

The Evolution of a Dog Owner to a Dog "Person"

You see them, walking their dogs, throwing a ball, or putting down the food dish. They are everywhere, and look just like you, but what is it, that sticks out in your mind, something that you can't really point out but it says "that is a dog owner". What's the difference between that chance-seen person, and the dog person that looks back at you in the mirror every morning?

There are millions of dog-owning people on this planet, but not all are "dog people". Dog "people" are instantly recognizable by another, something that just feels familiar, an in-tune with the dog feeling, and you nod in understanding as they open their wallet and show pictures of their family, pointing out the four-legged children, and describing them as such. And dog people do this. Generally only with other dog people. They draw each other like magnets in a crowd, gravitating toward a center arena, regalling each other with "doggish", tales of what their dogs have done, plan to do, or just how they enrich our lives.

And then there's the dog "owner". These people have a dog ... know they have a dog ... but generally don't espouse on that fact, the dog is just "there". Utterly responsible owners they may be, but there's something tangible missing.

Sometimes, I see the dog "owner" again, but somewhere along the line, he's transformed into a dog "person", and the change is recognizable. I always want to ask when the change happened. I never do, for fear of looking like a moron, but for some of us dog people, the change was a definable point. We weren't all born as dog people, although some were certainly lucky enough to be born with it. Some dog owners, like myself, have gone through the change, where we morphed into true dog people, as opposed to being just a dog "owner".

As an owner-turned-person, sometimes I try to find the exact moment in my life when the change happened.

I know it happened with one dog. It may have been when I realized that that one dog decided I was a goddess and fully worthy of worship. Genuine enthusiasm is very hard to resist, after all. It might have been when I realized that, yes, he was intelligent, and seemed to really understand everything I told him. It may have happened when I faced losing him to Parvovirus, and did everything I possibly could to save him (with help), and his resistance to the lure of the Bridge drew me in. It might also have been something that was said to me years ago, regarding HIS feelings, when before I wasn't aware that he had any.

I know it wasn't an immediate change, but whenever it was, it was truly enlightening. Something made me stop viewing him as "just" an animal, and started to see him as my best friend. And from that point on, everything went uphill, fast. Nowadays, I am a true dog person, and dogs will always share and enrich my life. I hope to share and enrich theirs as well.