I have caught myself saying this a lot lately…”Dogs, I put my trust in dogs; they are sensible, loyal, and honest.” Can you blame me? Just look around at the condition of our world. While I have some very dear human friends, my very best buddies are now, and always have been, my dogs. As a child, my father was an abuser, and we could never have a dog. We tried, but he abused them too. They bit back. We couldn’t.
In my adult life, I have always had dogs, or they have had me. They were all ‘rescues’, but in truth they rescue me every day. There have been mutts of all sizes and shapes. Those that looked like shepherds, beagles, labs, a terrier, a Great Dane, two wolf hybrids, a pit blend, and a Chiweenie. Some were just dropped off at my home and stayed, while others were adopted from a shelter. We loved them all! They were always family members, not just pets.
My point here is that I trust dogs, and they are a huge part of my life. They bring comfort, companionship, joy, and stability to my life. Talk about unconditional love! Psychologists tell us that pets benefit us in a myriad of ways. Many studies indicate that pets are powerful stress relievers. They can help lower not only blood pressure but harmful stress hormones like cortisol, which is associated with depression and anxiety. Pets elevate beneficial hormones like oxytocin. Coming home to a wagging tail every day is a fantastic mood booster! They provide the best emotional support. So, while I still love me some humans, I continue to find much of humanity sorely lacking.
We can learn some precious life lessons from our pets. One of those lessons is living in the now. They don’t think about the past or the future. They are fully grounded in the now. While our minds may race continuously, our pets enjoy the simple pleasures and exist solely in the moment. They also love with no judgement. Pets help us be better humans.
I know I am not alone in this love of her best friends, the dogs. Just like the rest of us, some famous women loved their furry companions too.
Dr, Jane Goodall, the beloved primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist, known for her groundbreaking, sixty year study of wild chimps in Tanzania, frequently stated that dogs were actually her favorite animals. She said that her relationship with dogs shaped her perspectives and her work in several key ways.
The Pulitzer Prize-wining American poet, Mary Oliver wrote Dog Songs, as a celebration of the special bond between humans and their dogs. Her shaggy companions were her muse. Her work reflects deep roots and harmony with the natural world.
Tasha Tudor is the beloved American author and illustrator who published nearly 100 children’s books. She earned multiple Caldecott Honors. Although born into high society Boston, she retreated from the modern world to live in an authentic, hand-crafted home in Vermont where she lived an 1830s lifestyle. Her relationship with Pembroke Welsh Corgis defined both her artistic career and her personal life. She asked the question, “How could you resist a Corgi?” She couldn’t!
Edith Wharton was the trailblazing American novelist and the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize of Literature in 1921, with The Age of Innocence. Her love of dogs began when she was four years old with a Spitz named Foxy. Throughout her adult life she doted on her pets which included, Pekingese, Papillons, and Poodles. She often hired a dog knitter to make them custom sweaters. Dogs were a constant fixture in Edith’s life. They were her dearest companions, writing assistants, and emotional support during her unhappy marriage. She and her husband were founding members of the ASPCA in New York City.
Beatrix Potter, beloved English author illustrator, and conservationist, best known for her “Tale of Peter Rabbit, wrote twenty three children’s tales and was a pioneering Lake District sheep farmer and land preservationist. Throughout her life dogs were her companions and sometimes the subject of her stories. As a child her pets and constant companions were a spaniel named Spot and a terrier by the name of Sandy. When Beatrix moved to the Lake District and became an active farmer she trained and kept sheepdogs, notably one special dog, Keep, a collie, to help manage the estate. She wrote about him in her The Tale of Jemima Puddle-duck and also wrote about other village dogs such as Pickles the terrier in The Tale of Ginger and Pickles. Later in her life she added Pekingese dogs to her menagerie and referred to them as her “foot warmers.”
Another corgi lover, Queen Elizabeth II bred over thirty dogs in her lifetime. Even in her later years she welcomed new furry friends to her home. When she was eighteen she received her first corgi, Susan, for her eighteenth birthday. She has had corgi’s ever since and taken in several cocker spaniel as well. In an interview she summed up her relationship with her dogs this way, ”My corgis are my family.”
“Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses” says the beloved actress Elizabeth Taylor. She was devoted to her dogs and treated them like family. They were always by her side. Her love for animals began in childhood with a Golden Retriever named Monty. While she loved many breeds—including Lhasa Apsos, Dachshunds, and a Collie (a great-grandchild of the original Lassie)—her absolute favorites were her tiny white Maltese.
Audrey Hepburn was also known for her love of animals and she often insisted they hold starring roles in her film. She had a number of Yorkshire terriers, a poodle, and a pet fawn. Audrey had a very deep and tender relationship with her dogs treating them as confidants and constant companions, not just pets. She was very dedicated to the wellbeing of her pets and personally prepared a special daily mash for her Jack Russells, consisting of boiled rice, cooked meat, and vegetables. One of her Yorkies, Mr. Famous, had a role in her 1957 film, Funny Face. Her guiding Philosophy was: “I walk my dogs to keep me fit. I talk to my dogs, which keeps me sane. I can’t think of anything that makes one happier than to cuddle and play and start the day with a warm puppy.”
Spending today with my girls. They get it. Anyone who says, “it’s just a dog” doesn’t get it and I feel sorry for them. They are missing so much.
