Would You Be A Dog If You Could?
Sometimes, it can seem so difficult being human – all that worrying, regretting and being way too hard on ourselves. Wouldn’t it be just nice to be a dog? They seem to barrel through life with not a care in the world. It sounds idyllic. Holidays4Dogs asks – would you be a dog if you could – and what might it be like?
Anyone who’s watched the antics of their four-legged friend, may very well wonder whether dogs are happier than we are. They have no qualms about being polite and will quite happily attend to their nether regions in public, or shamelessly sleep for hours on end during the day. They have servants on tap, to present meals and treats and with dab of the nose on someone’s knee – can initiate a massage, just like that.
Dogs don’t have to deal with cold callers, snotty neighbours, irritating work colleagues, or the woman at the supermarket who keeps shoving her trolley aggressively into your behind. And – even if they did – one gets the impression they’d just laugh it all off anyway.
Of course, not all dogs live the heady, high-life – resplendent in a cosy, warm house, with their every need met.
Rescue centres in the UK are bursting at the seams with dogs and puppies who find themselves abandoned, un-loved and worse. But even then, when life gives them apples – even they, know how to make apple sauce.
What’s not to like – as some would say – about being a dog? Things can sometimes seem so overwhelmingly hard. being a person. There’s so much acute awareness and retrospective thinking – you could tie yourself up in existential knots, way before you’ve even had a morning coffee. Dogs never seem to have that problem.
There’s probably a few things you’d rather not have to engage in, if you were a dog. Vet visits often seem to create a certain amount of anxiety, even for the most gregarious of pooches. Although, having said that, dogs still probably cope better with having to drop their dignity at the door than we do. Especially if you’re a woman.
It’s quite likely your partner, or friend, probably won’t be too enamoured about picking up your poop, either. Apart from that, though, wouldn’t it be great not to have any jobs to do? Without thumbs it would makes it impossible to waste all day trying to meet those human obligations. Like spending the day in a boring office or, cleaning the toilet.
The luckiest pets spend their days walking, eating, snuggling, patrolling the garden – maybe a little digging and lying flat out in a sunny spot. Some get to go to the pub and languish under the seats, hoovering up snacks and watching the world go by, while we may be busy crying into our beer and wondering about the brevity of life. Instead of scratching, stretching and stealing socks just for the craic.
Some dogs get to go shopping, watch their own television programme and have pamper sessions. They can even go to canine yoga, or get some hydrotherapy. They can have hobbies and jobs and families. And – when all that’s done, they can have their very own holiday with one of our super Holidays4Dogs carers.
This being a dog thing sounds better every minute !
Sometimes, we can be blind-sided by sadness when we’re alone – which is actually a dog thing too if you think of separation anxiety – but, dogs never stop loving life, no matter what it throws at them. If it’s a tennis ball – all the better.
On the other hand – being human, means we get to share our lives with these amazing creatures and maybe we can learn something from them?
Being a dog would be nice, but understanding the depths of a dog and sharing a home with one – has to be better, right? We’re the lucky ones. When we’re happy and when we’re sad, those daft, devoted four-legged fools, will always be on our side.
Now let’s go chase some squirrels !