Love and connection, being one of the most important human needs, is easy to get from dogs. They love us easily, they love us completely, and even when we let them down they are still there for us. It makes sense that those of us who struggle in the human world find our refuge in the natural world with dogs.
From my position, I get to see something else that’s even more interesting – what happens when dogs shouldn’t be so easy to love. I get to see people who take abuse from their dogs and yet always forgive them. Dogs can bite their owners, bite their children, keep them from sleeping at night, ruin their expensive furniture or family heirlooms, and yet the owners continue to love them. Even more interestingly, owners will excuse every behavior or take the blame themselves.