Unconditional Love

Recently an ad was placed on Craigslist in the United States that has thrown the whole dog-owner dynamic into a minor tizzy, making us ask the question: do we really prefer our dogs to our spouses  ?

The man who posted the ad was given an ultimatum by his spouse, “it's me or the dog” which he responded by placing an ad entitled Free to any willing home. The ad went on to say that his spouse mind you, … stays up all night yapping but sleeps while I work. Will never greet you at the door after a long day or give you unconditional love when you're down. (She) does not bite but can be mean as hell.

Points of view do vary here. Some may find the ad amusing, while others may not. However, in the end it was done as sort of a joke not meant to be taken literally. I hope. Regardless of how you view it, I do believe it does place a spotlight on the beauty, companionship, and at times conflagration of pet ownership and just how much our four-legged friends mean to us. If you look at the human-dog relationship, which has evolved over 20,000 years, it is unique and unbelievably strong. Dogs are so fine-tuned to us, they scan our faces to gauge our emotions and they bond with us wholeheartedly, completely without judgment.

There is an inherent simplicity and consistency with pet ownership. Humans tend to complicate things much more than they need to be and it is our pets that often put it all into perspective and remind us that “All You Need Is Love.”