0002: Have a dog.

Dogs have always been referred to as “man’s best friend”. Maybe it’s because they follow you around all day, don’t mind being on a leash when going for a walk around the block, will chase after a ball when you throw it across the yard, and will lick the scraps off your dinner plate. Or maybe it’s because they are sad to see you leave, will often sit by the door or peer out the window until you get home, and undoubtedly will greet you at with a wagging tail upon your return.

I never had a dog growing up. Yes, I had goldfish, whom I named again and again with each new pair Ernie and Bert, but never a dog. My best friend, with whom I spent every waking, and on most weekends non-waking, moment of my childhood, did. Did I miss out on a childhood experience that now, as an adult, I don’t crave? Does having a dog define our lives or shape who we are? And what does it mean for those of us who don’t have a furry friend swaggering around the house.

Maybe it’s not the dogs in our lives that make us who we are. Maybe, it’s the idea of the dog. The idea that there is someone, or something, with unconditional love towards us out there, willing to go anywhere, no matter how far, for us. And whether they have two or four legs, they are indeed our best friends.

While I am not the proud owner of a dog myself, which I am totally ok with, here are my three favorite four-legged friends:

Rinna (L), Max (C), Ripley (R)

And though I don’t see them (or their owners) all that often anymore, they (both the pooches and their owners) warm my heart every time… even though they’re not mine…