It wasn't until my husband and I welcomed them into our home though that the complete ease of the relationship was discovered. Other than them letting you know when it's time to eat, use the bathroom and play, they're quite content to just be near you and show their affection with a thump of the tail or a draw back of their ears when you give them a pet or tell them you love them. It's a relationship that is easy and loving. Dogs wear their hearts on their sleeves. There's no coyness, playing emotional games or anything left to doubt or misunderstanding. As any dog owner will tell you, it doesn't matter if you've gone to get the newspaper at the curb or gone grocery shopping, they bound to greet you with such joy each time that even your heart lifts and pounds at this marvelous reunion. At the same time, if you are having a bad day and are impatient with them for just a moment, they take it very personally with guilt and apology. If that doesn't make you instantly drop to your knees and give them a hug...!
In my latest piece, I started with a dog bone that I'd cut out of a copper sheet and torch enameled. Then I went to my drawers of treasures and created this Victorian styled Mourning Necklace for the Love of a Dog. In Victorian times people commonly wore mourning jewelry to commemorate the death of a loved one. This started when Queen Victoria went into mourning the rest of her life after losing her beloved Albert.
Knowing dogs live a very short life compared to ours doesn't help ease the intense grief when they pass, but nor does it stop us from welcoming a new furry friend into our lives. We never forget, but we honor their memory by continuing to love.
"Life is but a brief moment. The years go by quickly and old age arrives suddenly before we have an inkling. People desire so many things and waste their days in vain. Some yearn for gold, others for power, yet others for glory and a higher station. But when death's moment nears and they look back at their lives they've lived, they realise they've been happy only during those moments when they've loved." -- Borje Vahamaki