Eris Loves her Puppies

My 2 adorable dogs have looked miserable this summer. We take good care of them, but they always look homeless, and this year they look especially neglected. I think it has to do with the 90 degree weather we had in April (freaking April!!). Regardless of the cause, my dogs have shedded and molted continuously for 3 months.

So last night we took Mabel, the Border Collie, and had to shave her down. She didn’t really enjoy this, but it was either a shave or a summer of sweltering. Have you ever wondered what happens to the hair you shave off a dog? The 72 pounds of fur we took off the dog ended up in two different places: on my shirt and on the back deck – minus the daily poundage she leaves all over my house.

What I have realized this year is that my dogs leave enough hair in my house to make an entirely new dog! Amazingly, the hair gravitates together under one chair in my kitchen. It is reminiscent of the scene in Terminator 2 where the liquid all moves together to reform the robot.

Would we tolerate this type of filth and mess from anything else? Would I allow any other animal to tackle and run over me, leaving bunches and bunches of hair all over me? The answer is no. But the reason I do is simple: my dogs are my comfort. When I leave, they are always thrilled to see me again – they literally jump up and down at my return! They kiss me when I need it, and even when I don’t. They play with my kids. They have scared away more than one unwanted visitor to my home, and they welcome wanted visitors with leaps and licks. They are my source of unconditional love.

So I will shave them. I will pick gross things out of their hair. I will forgive them when they eat a shoe or pee on the floor (this almost never happens). Because I know that nothing I do will come close to giving them as much and they have given me.