If people were dogs...

I've heard it said that after awhile, some people will start to resemble their pets.  I've even seen pictures that back up this theory. However, I wonder if the physical attributes are only just the beginning.  What if, maybe even subconsciously, we pick pets based on their personalities and how well we think they match ours? For instance, I would never want a nervous, frantic, yippy Chiwawa.  I think they're cute and all, but I just don't like being around things or people for that matter who seem to have a lot more energy than me, and granted, that's not really saying too much most days. It drains my energy to be around people like that. Someone who is hyper and "so excited" all the time and never ever gets even slightly down or calm, actually makes me step back and start to wonder what is wrong with that person. I don't think anybody is ever legitimately that way 100% of the time. Negative people affect me that way too. I prefer those balanced people who put me at ease.

It wasn't always that way.  There was a time when I thought something was wrong with me because I wasn't always happy and hyper and basically, a walking cheerleader.  I'm not saying I'm perfect. I'm just saying I don't dwell on my imperfections. Maybe I just don't care. That was back when I was a young whipper snapper and not a middle aged mom of three who is occasionally, hopefully accidentally, given a senior discount at a store because the teenager behind the counter is too afraid to ask if I'm 55 or older, and she really isn't a good judge of age just yet. I don't blame her.  I've actually been in that same situation before, and I know it's just easier to give the discount than to ask. But, it does make me want to go buy Clairol.

Anyway, if we resemble our pets personality, then I have finally managed to get the perfect pet for me.  Bear is the black lab in the picture above.  We adopted her about a year and a half ago. That picture represents her normal pose throughout the day.  Most of the time, she is easy going, loves the kids and habitually sneaks around to get extra food wherever she can find it...the garbage, the floor, the kids' plates...I'm like that too...well, except for the places she finds food. She loves to see people come to her house, but in some ways she scares them off because she can look mean and vicious..just like me!  If someone dares to walk by with another dog on her sidewalk, she will let everyone in the neighborhood know that this is her territory, and "how dare they bring another dog on her property!"  I'm not like that though..unless you count the fact that I don't like people to bother my personal space.  I am a big fan of personal boundaries.

Another similarity is the fact that if she has to go outside and do her business, she will get right up in my personal space and whine and run around like she has to go pee and then when I get the leash and my shoes on, you'd think she had won the hot dog lotto. My husband thinks I'm like that because when I really need him to turn off the tv and help me put the kids to bed or something else that I think is urgent, I get right up in his personal space and won't let him sit and watch tv either..Oh my gosh!  I think I'm morphing into my dog!

I could turn this into a spiritual blog about how we should all be like Jesus and not worry about being like other people or dogs. I'm certainly not going to compare my Savior to a K-9, but if I were writing a story and wanted to symbolize Jesus that way, I would write him as a German Shepherd. One who is always there, protecting, comforting, leading like a seeing eye dog for a blind person. One who knows when to rest, when to move and when and how to attack to protect those in his care.  But of course, I'm thankful, Jesus is much more than that.  I don't want to "put God in box" which I've always thought was a funny metaphor. You can't put Him in anything, and you can't compare him to anyone or anything.  He just is that He is. 

So, whether I'm a lazy lab, a hyper yippy dog or a mutt in between, I'll try to remember that "It's a dog eat dog world," and "If I can't run with the big dogs, I'll just stay on the porch" and "I might not have a dog in that fight" and maybe somehow, I will learn to just "Let sleeping dogs lie".  I'd better be careful before I start a new religion called "Dogism"...please don't tell me there's already something out there like that. I just don't want to know. I don't want to go "Diggin up bones" anywhere...I'll stop now...:)