People generally like to say that dog owners resemble their dogs, and vice-versa. I have seen little people with little dogs, long pouty faces with similar owners and hairy dogs with even harrier people. My favorite is when the owner looks just as un-kept as the dog; both looking like they have been in some bushes all afternoon in the backyard.
My dog and I do not look a thing alike. He is more of a long haired dog while I am more of a short hair kind of guy. He is a hungry little thing that would eat sauce on a boot if you gave it him, whereas I am more of the “eat only when necessary” type. But the more I observe my dog, I begin to see where our similarities lie. We look at the world through the same set of eyes: the eyes of an eternal observer.
I will catch him staring at the world as though it is the most interesting documentary he has ever seen. At the customs and quirks that comprise the people around him. Staring at people, and wondering why they come and go as they please; and for that matter, where do they go? Are these people my friends? Are they my enemies? The quiet observation that people are not as predictable as they may come across; that they may in fact still be able to surprise you. The observation that things are difficult to understand, no matter how long you look at them. The world is constantly providing you with all this stimulus, but how are you to go about deciphering it?
But the most consistent look my dog gives is a look of question; a ponder. He is not a loud, yappy dog. He doesn’t growl, or cause a scene. But rather, he looks; as though he is trying to discover a great truth about the world around him. The world around him is a puzzle, and each piece, while crucial, is just as confusing as the piece before it.
And all the while, it isn’t about solving the puzzle. It is about enjoying what you see while you still have time to see it.
