Mr. T, a brown dog
I have heard that pets tend to reflect the personality of their owners. I am not sure if this is true, as the pet we have owned for several years is a hateful borderline obese cat who enjoys drinking from the toilet and destroying our possessions. If this is a reflection of my personality, it might at least explain my difficulty in the dating world. However, I prefer the term guarded to hateful, and the few (dozen) nursing school pounds hanging around may not be attractive, but obesity is still a few cookies away.But, in the few months we have owned him, I have come to notice that Mr. T-the dog- might, in fact, reflect my personality much more than first I realized. We adopted Mr. T from a no-kill shelter during my last semester of nursing school; a time when I was possibly so exhausted I was easily coerced by a son who had always wanted a pet besides the spiteful cat which had never appreciated his energy. I really thought there was a discussion about a hedgehog, but somehow we came home with a rather large dog. Nursing school is hard.
Mr. T is not a young dog. I did not want a puppy. I am not at a point in my life where I have interest in training a puppy. He doesn't chew up our stuff, pee in my house, or bark incessantly. He doesn't jump up on people or things, try to run away, or dig holes in yards. For the most part, Mr. T is pretty relaxed and easy going. I attribute much of this to the fact that Mr. T is an older dog, so he's been around long enough to have moved past the stage where everything in life must be announced and reacted to. Maturity is an attractive quality in both people and pets, I have decided.
At the same time, Mr. T had been at the shelter a long time. He had probably been to several adoption events prior to the one where he found us. I wonder if this was, in fact, a reflection of his age. He doesn't have the cute, cuddly energy of a puppy. He isn't a purebred, sleek dog. Mr. T has a bit of middle-aged chub. Once we took him home, we noticed Mr. T is far from the perfect dog; he has a history and some habits that have developed because of it. Walking Mr. T can be an adventure, he does not always react well to other dogs. There was a period of adjustment with the aforementioned cat. Sometimes Mr. T likes to eat foods that don't agree with his rather delicate digestive system. Sadly, Mr. T is a dog that has seen violence. His reaction to people and events can be unpredictable, so he isn't one of those dogs who wears a cute bandanna and attends Cider Days.
Doesn't play well with others
Yet, Mr. T waits patiently for each of us to return home and then sits happily in the living room gazing at his family and wagging his tail. He sleeps in the bedroom with you, or lies on the rug watching television with you, because he loves his home and his people. He isn't perfect, but he is grateful, loyal, active, and loving.Seeing the potential in a pet sometimes means looking beyond picture perfect pet food ads or calendar shots of cute young puppies or well groomed purebreds. Sometimes the friendly eyes, warm snuggles or loyalty of a loving animal who is happy to see you at the end of a long day is its own reward and that is enough.
Pets and people have relationships, you see, Like people and people have relationships. They say pets reflect their owners. Perhaps it is true. Mr. T gave my son and I a hopeful, friendly look at Pet Smart and captured our hearts, perhaps there is still hope that will happen in my life. Perhaps he and I are a lot alike. Perhaps it is time I reflect less of the "guarded" cat in my home, and gaze at the dating world with the optimistic eyes of Mr. T, who only needed someone to see his potential.
