The more I know people, the more I love my dogs.

When I decided to start this blog, I vowed that I would share more than just design posts.  I hope to give you an insight of how life truly is "At Home With Veronique."  I simply want to share things that bring me and my family joy, in turn sharing bits of my life that have enhanced my journey, one of those being my dogs.

Our current dog, Jack.

And of course little Maddie.

Napoleon, Bonaparte, and Sarge, all childhood dogs. A beautiful buff Cocker Spaniel and two amazing German Shepherds.  "The more I know people, the more I love my dogs."  A quote directly from my Father.  Funny how after over 20 years of his passing, I can still hear him utter those words.  I suppose he just felt such comfort from his dogs; no conflict, no challenge.  Pure love, respect and dedication.  Why can't it always be the case with humans?  The love of a dog is of the purest kind; unconditional.  Think of all the incredible stories we hear of Veterans being reunited with their military service dogs months and years after their completed service.  The bond is forever, the memories set in stone, and the love and connection eternally embedded in the hearts of both.  I never tire of those stories.  Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.

With the exception of only a couple of dogs, we have always turned to "rescues."  The others were special situations that although not through rescue groups, there was a reason they entered our lives.  More recent gifts from rescue groups were Reggie and Allie.  Reggie, 115 lbs of beautiful English black lab, age 4-5 when he joined our family, was listed as needing a strong male figure.  That certainly was fulfilled with my husband.  We saved him, but in the end, he saved us.  We lost him recently at the estimated age of 12.  Allie, a beautiful female Airedale. What a joy and gift she was.  Having lost her elderly owner, she was in need of love and a family.  In the short 1 1/2 years she was a part of our lives, she gave us more love and laughs than I could ever express.

Allie. Gone way too soon.

Reggie

Reggie's last days...

Jack and Allie

I simply cannot imagine my life without dogs in it.  I now have grandchildren, and it is my hope and desire that they learn the value and respect having these creatures share their lives.  Fear not the crazy jumping due to you carrying in a new stuffed toy or colorful cup.  Let alone bring in a new ball into the mix.  Or the intense and incessant need of that last singular puff left in the highchair.  He/she will protect you to a fault.  I promise you that.  Don't lose your marbles because they bark at pretty much anything, including all those crazy commercials on tv that insist on using doorbells in their advertisements.  Or that pesky little squirrel that they are certain they could catch if only the window was not keeping them from the attack.  Or those people that drive in big brown trucks and deliver boxes to our front doors.  Let it go!

Sadly, they don't usually live as long as we need them to.  Oh, the pain of dealing with the loss of our dogs.  It simply never gets easier.  When you lose a dog, you lose a certain constant in your life that you never quite realized was holding you up.  You realize how important it is to love everything the way a dog loves you, but you learn it just a few minutes too late.  Whether the loss is of natural causes, a tragic accident, or an unexplainable illness, the pain is always crippling.  It eases with time, but the memories never waver.  As a matter of fact, those memories often are accompanied by smiles and wonderful stories, eventually.

As I remember the many dogs that have given me the privilege to share their lives with me, I have visions that they are all up there romping around to their hearts content.  Napoleon, Bonaparte, Sarge, Spencer, Lester, Bailey, Emily, Molly, Sarah, Reggie and Allie, thanks for the memories.  I think I'll go take my dogs for a walk...

Thanks for visiting.

Veronique