When you read the headline of this post, you will naturally presume that I have a dog. But, I must correct you, we have a Boxer! 😉 Let me explain before you think I’ve completely lost it.
I’ve had a dog almost my entire life or at least since the time I was 5, when my parents got fed up of me begging them to get one. They got us a lovely black Labrador, courtesy a family friend. Since then, we had several dogs of various breeds too. When I got married, I didn’t think we’d have a dog, because Jose had never had one before. Moreover, I wasn’t sure how it would work out having a dog in an apartment in Mumbai.
Thankfully, Jose was eager to have a dog too and after much research we decided to get a boxer. That’s when I realized that boxers are not really dogs! 😉 No, they’re half-human, I’m certain. Just look at that expression! (Pablo shares a blog with Jose and me. He also has his own Facebook Page.).
But I’ve digressed before I’ve started, haven’t I?
There are plenty of reasons why I love my dog ( what’s not to love? 😉 ). Let me share 7 of them with you.
He’s a bundle of love – Dog lovers all the world will tell you that there’s nothing to compare to doggy-love. It’s unconditional.
He’s quiet – Pablo hardly ever barks. At first, we were worried and then we read that most often dogs bark when they feel threatened or deprived. The vet assured us that it was perfectly normal too. On the rare occasions he does bark, I’m sure the neighbours go down on their knees and thank God for the fact that he’s quiet! 😉
He’s super-friendly – He’s an absolute extrovert – loves people – especially children. This sometimes can work against him because he feels that he has to have a face to face chat with every one! He’s very friendly with other dogs too and is always eager to make a new friend.
He’s our alarm clock – Okay, so there are days we grumble, but on most days we appreciate that Pablo gets us up early – so that he can be taken for a walk. But Pablo also ensures that we go to bed sooner than we might by giving us this look! 😉
He is the best stress-buster ever – It’s hard to stay upset or stressed when you have big, crazy dog around. His expressions and antics always succeed in bringing a smile to our face. He’s seen us through some really stressful times of illness.
He acts as a great reminder that every day is a new one – Pablo’s level of excitement and sense of anticipation for every walk and every car drive is a huge lesson to me. He’s a constant reminder that there’s always good things ahead and we must look forward to every new day with excitement and anticipation.
Do you have a pet? And what difference does s/he make to your life? Do share.
Aww, Pablo sounds like such a sweetheart. Love him! Our pets are the best!
I just got a new orange boy kitten and I’m smitten already. Hey, that rhymes.
Give Pablo an extra cuddle from me!
Cathy Graham recently posted..Seven things I remember from my childhood
Yes, Pablo is a sweetheart. He’s fun to have around.
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..7 Ways To Keep Smiling
Although I have never had a pet myself, I have had enough friends and relatives with dogs as pets to be able to somewhat relate to this post myself.
Completely agree with the part when you say that they give you unconditional love irrespective of your mood, time of day or whatever else. And BTW, loved the pics as well.
Nice post…
Jairam Mohan recently posted..Vali’s greed
The unconditional love is the best part about having a dog. Having said that, Pablo sometimes ‘sulks’ a bit. But after a little fuss, everything is back to normal.
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..7 Ways To Keep Smiling
Oh, Corinne, what a love Pablo is, and how our pets truly encourage us to live in the moment and practice unconditional love. I do miss having a dog and doubt I will ever have another, but so enjoyed the years I had with the precious ones who honored me by calling me “friend.”
Blessings to you, Jose, and precious Pablo!
Martha Orlando recently posted..Disconnect to Reconnect
Yes, Martha, the unconditional love we get from Pablo makes our day. Starting with the little lick on the nose, early in the morning.
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..7 Ways To Keep Smiling
Awww!! Pablo sounds like a sweetheart!! 🙂
I’m not really an animal person, but I do understand why dogs make such awesome, amazing pets!! 🙂
Pixie recently posted..Write Tribe Festival of Words: 7 Lessons I’ve learnt from Life
Pablo is indeed a sweetheart. Dogs generally make great pets and Pablo is in a class of his own, as pets go.
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..7 Ways To Keep Smiling
Pablo is very sweet.I am reminded of my pet dog labrador, Elsa who was with us for twelve years.She died recently.She was so cute,lovable and child like.We miss her.
Twelve years!!! That’s a long time. I’m sure you miss Elsa. Though we have had Pablo for four and a half years, we miss him every time we put him in the ‘kennel’.
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..7 Ways To Keep Smiling
You are so right! Boxers are just four-legged humans!!! Our brindle boxer, whiskey (f), is almost 12 years old. However, she is still active and is like an extension of my self. She wakes me up every morning for food and green beans. About 10:30 every evening, she nudges my leg as a way of saying, “It is time for bed.”
If I have work to do, we drag her bed next to me and Whiskey lays and sleeps, snores and dreams until I wake her to help me feed and water our cats and then say goodnight!
She has her own settee in my room with a dog bed on top. She stays there and if I am winding down will raise her head and smile at me, as if to say, you are so funny! Put in Eight Below and turn of the light. OF course, I have to remember to put the sleep timer on as well!
So happy you have Pablo! My heart pulls tight knowing that Whiskey will not be with me forever. THere’s still plenty of time to love and honor her now!
Thanks for sharing, Andrea. Whiskey sounds a lot like our Pablo.
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..Those Were The Days
Corinne, you tempt me so much to grab a dog, by writing this post. R loves dogs and I guess it’s high time we get one.
Joy always,
Susan
Susan Deborah recently posted..Seven: Day 3 – Seven Blogs that I like to Visit
Susan, I think you won’t regret it!
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..Those Were The Days
I’d love to have a dog as a pet, but except me, everyone else in my house is against it! I will anyway get a pet later on. Earlier, when we used to stay in apartments, we had a common dog. It was actually brought from the forest, it seems. I was mighty impressed with it – It can read people so accurately and it will guard the flat (from cows, other stray dogs, etc) so well. Sometimes I feel that dogs know more than people! But I don’t like the concept of chaining the dogs to take it for a walk or building a small cage inside home and locking them.
Destination Infinity
Destination Infinity recently posted..CAPITAL PUNISHMENT (Short Story)
I do hope you get one soon. Pablo is only put on a leash for a walk because of the traffic and his friendly nature – he might scare a passer-by! Otherwise, he’s never chained.
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..Living, Loving and Learning
Yeah ! A dog post! Same pinch 🙂
Sometimes, I pity those who’ve never had a dog. They have no idea what they are missing out on… UNCONDITIONAL LOVE 24/7! No evil ulterior motives (except the food in your unattended plate, of course), no nakras… just pure joy and craziness.
Dr Roshan R recently posted..Dogyears@Godyears – Snoopy File 01.
This is my husband’s first dog – for a variety of reasons he couldn’t have one earlier. I’ve always had a dog and can hardly imagine life without one. No nakras? It’s obvious you haven’t met Pablo, Roshan! 😉
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..7 Ways To Keep Smiling
I love these absolute-truth type posts. I am too chicken to get a dog, but I get to enjoy all my friends’ pets. And of course, I go overboard clicking photos of all the man’s-best-friends I see. The unconditional love and faith is the best part.
Pablo is a lovely “boy”!
Vidya Sury recently posted..7 Weight Loss Tips You Will Love
Dogs are a lot of work – especially in an apartment building. I believe it’s better not to get carried away about having one – without thinking the whole commitment through.
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..The 7 Practices Of Mindful Eating
My son has been begging for a dog for long time now. (Btw, just to please him we had taken him to a nearby pet shop, and the sight of a barking German shepherd puppy terrified him.) Now, he has started begging for a parrot now.
My husband and I had a smile when we read your comment, Jini. And over the last few days, he’ll remember your comment and we smile again. I hope your son gets over his fear – boxers are so child friendly! 🙂
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..Those Were The Days
I am actually pretty scared of dogs and hubby has been wanting to keep one for sometime now. Shail and you are making me reconsider his proposal. Let’s see how it goes. 🙂
Rekha recently posted..The Most Important 7
My sister-in-law used to be scared of dogs, Rekha, until they got one. Now the dog gets top priority in their home. I’m sure your little one will love having one too!
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..7 Reasons Why You Should Stop Blogging
Oh Corinne, Pablo dragged me to this post…
Today morning, when we went down for a walk, all of us were keeping to ourselves, in our own thought-world. Then came in Betsy, our friend’s dog and the whole atmosphere changed. She came licked everyone and jumped on us and made us so happy that the whole perspective to the day changed. Amazing is their love…that unconditional love 🙂
Pls pass on some (((Hugs))) to Pablo !!
UmaS recently posted..Brown…
Now that I know, I’ll make sure I write more Pablo-posts, Uma! Thanks for sharing about Betsy. We have unconditional love on a tap here! 😛
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..Life Without Goals
I have never had a dog at home but have seen some friends having at their home and seen the bond.
Pablo’s expressions are priceless
Bhagyashree recently posted..7 favorite shlokas
Thanks, Bhagya. He has a range of crazy expressions!
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..Suicide Prevention
Love Pablo’s expressions in the pictures :). He’s really cute. Dogs and pets make a huge difference to life and we can learn so much from them. My sister has a boxer and looks exactly like Pablo 🙂
Oh yes, Diana. Life would be so boring without Pablo. Would love to see a picture of your sister’s dog.
Never really been an animal person – since I am not comfortable with any living being that I cannot talk to (so, you guessed it, I am in extreme discomfort around babies as well 🙂 ) BUT you almost make me regret not having a dog ..oops..Boxer 🙂
C. Suresh recently posted..The days of the week
Now tell me who wouldnt fall for those expressions!
Pablo is so sweet and cute! My parents had Candy and she was a sweetheart. Was so affectionate, caring and understanding. She passed away many years ago. We had a Dalmatian Pepper and he was a BRAT. Made my life hell. So we gave him back. KG and AG are crazy about dogs but I have a condition that they have to take care of him too… Taking care of pets is a big responsibility. Also the OCD for cleanliness is a big hindrance for keeping a pet in a flat. We will have one, when Aaryan is old enough to take him for walks etc.
Shilpa Garg recently posted..7 Similarities
Pablo is so cute. Nice post. Dogs are awesome. I had 2 a mongrel Snoopy (and he did look like Charlie Brown’s Snoopy_ and a poodle Fuji.
Suzy recently posted..Going Places – Shiva Yatra
My blog started because of my Lab “Buddy” and since then I have been just writing and even made it my profession. My first ever post is about him. I believe that dogs have been sent on earth to show us everyday that we need to live in the moment and not take ourselves seriously.
I believe life is incomplete without a dog.
Lazy Pineapple recently posted..The Split 3
Corinne,
I always thought that Dalmatians were half-human 🙂 But I guess all dog lovers feel that way about their kids. Pablo is a sweetheart and I look forward to meeting him someday soon.
Your Pablo is cute, Corinne. I used to be scared of dogs. My older son who also used to be scared of dogs asked me if he could have one. Well the answer is, for now, NO!
he is such a sweety pie 😀 I love dogs and I too have always a dog around while growing up. True sometimes I too wonder if my Sirius is half human.
My parents never had a pet….they never did, inspite of how much of a howl I have made as a child. Anyhow, we had a neighbor’s dog who used to stay all day at our home and I bonded with him pretty well. We were inseparable and as soon as he would wake up in the morning he would run over to out place so that I could take him out for a walk and in the evening he would not let me study till his evening walk was done. I loved him just like he loved me- unconditionally. Until one day he fell sick and died in my arms. I howled that day. A part of me died with him too. I am just too scared to have a pet now, though little Missy keeps insisting. 🙂
Kajal recently posted..Living Life Yet Again
cute post, Corinne. The first and last dog I had was Tinku who was taken away by the truck. I still miss him and was five years. I loved him a lot. Since then, I had no pet and thinking of having one but scared. Tell me, what is the best way to win their hearts?
Cheerz
Vishal
vishalbheeroo recently posted..Seven things I love doing during the day
I have never had a dog. I so want to own one. But not all apartments here allow dogs. My kids want one desperately too. 🙁
Jyothi Nair recently posted..7 Favourite Vacation Photos
Awww so cute 🙂 This is like almost every pet lover’s paradise post. I liked the fact that you too appreciate a quiet dog. Coz I like that too 🙂
Richa Singh recently posted..Morning 3- Anant Rikhy
Oh, what a beautiful looking dog. That face is a face that can manipulate you all day long, I just love it. If ever you are lonely and need a faithful companion, then I will always advise someone who is capable of caring for a pet to get a dog. Due to my circumstances such as space and time, I don’t have a dog but when or if that ever changes, it’s my dream to have at least 2 of them. They can change your mood and brighten your day.
Rum Punch Drunk recently posted..The Abusive Church
Pablo seems to be gem. And cute name too.
I never had a pet, but it’s in my wish list since I started reading so many posts about how wonderful pets are.
Aww…such a wonderful tribute to your dog. I miss my two dogs, Sebby and Max. They were brothers…English Springer Spaniels. They brought so much joy to my life, but I don’t think I could raise any more. Maybe I just don’t want another dog taking their places, not that it would. Anyway, this brought back so many memories for me. Thank you.
Penny
Penny McDaniel recently posted..Seven Ways To Nourish The Soul
Hi Corinne
Not a dog lover, but I have met a few dogs in my life that I have liked. I am a cat lover and will stop and talk to any cat. I am hopelessly in love with Siamese, just adore those little clown faces…it is really hard to get mad at them, besides they have 8 points going for them over any other cats when they have done something wrong. The 2 I have now don’t get into much trouble. the oldest one is blind. The other one is such a love and I can carry on a conversation with her, complete with answers for 5 minutes.
They are definitely stress reducers and I can never imagine life without cats. The Siamese are the closest thing to having a dog.
Your dog seems like a perfect family member.
Mary
Mary Stephenson recently posted..The Power of Questions
OMG! The expressions! Pablo does seem half human. I agree with all your points. Only dogs can give you unconditional love. And each day and each moment is exciting and filled with anticipation. In that I resemble dogs 😉
Shail recently posted..Blue
i have been wanting to have a pet dog for the longest of time and now after reading your post i feel its about time i get one
you can check out my post here-
Karan –
Brother
The best part of big dogs are they are so peaceful &never barks unnecessarily.The smaller mutts though look cute tear your ears.Loved his name Pablo.He looks so deadly but they are best keep-guard!!
I need one……:(
http://sailorswiferamblings.blogspot.com/2013/09/seven-smells-to-smile.html
Anu Dev recently posted..SEVEN Sacred Chants……………….
Parting so sad.
We had a German Shephard….DUKE.
The vet was so careless that Duke was given a wrong medicine one day.
That was it.We still miss him
B k chowla recently posted..CASUAL LEAVE
What a big beautiful boy Pablo is!! I love my doggies too so I know exactly what you mean about “doggie love”!
Kathy recently posted..7 Favorite Photos
Pablo..i have already fallen in love with u ;). Would love to meet him Corrine.I can say i had grown up having dogs for company. I get along with them fabulously :).This was before marriage. Then married a sailor and life changed. He never had one before.I did cajole him to bring one home 😛 but in vain. It was my daughter who could do what i couldn’t 😀
With transferable job it was not possible to have during the travelling period. After he finished his bond period we came down and settled in Andhra. So, one day, some 13yrs back ago my daughter brought one home from her karate institution. A lovely roadasian with eyes that could melt hearts .A tiny bundle of joy. She was not only a pet, but my little daughter and yes, my friends and students did refer her as such :D. Last year in August she left to the pets paradise and i am still mourning and miss her so much!.
Their affection and loyalty has no comparison!
I’m glad you could keep him in your house ~ we couldn’t keep one because of asthma and lack of space ~ glad to know you enjoy Pablo so much.
Melissa recently posted..Fall In Love: A Peek into the Hidden Life
I love dogs but I am the only one in my family who holds that opinion. And hence animals are a no-no in the house. My wife is dead scared of them. It is kind of an over-my-dead-body situation. 🙁
Amit recently posted..Fog Lake
He is a mighty awesome boy, Corrine and worthy of all the love you give him!! Thanks for linking!
Michelle Liew recently posted..Loving a rocking rock ballad
I don’t think my sapiens remember their life before me! The love that you have for Pablo is very much the love that my sapiens and I have for each other.
Ruckus the Eskie recently posted..September BarkBox Review (*Spoiler Alert!*)
Well, I feel I must correct you. Boxers are not the only ones that are not ‘dogs’. I think all dogs are family members. 🙂 My daughters’s cat will call out “Mama” when he wants attention…but that is another story. Isn’t it funny when we included our pets in conversations like”Mom loves you” or “Take this to Papa.”
I have never had a boxer but my nephew raised them and I have always liked them. They seem like gentle tough guys.
Carol Graham recently posted..Dogs – H is for Hiding Behind the Tree
I agree, Carol. However, having had dogs all my life, I must say that boxers make the best conversationalists! 😉
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..Getting Waisted by Monica Parker
REALLY? Oh no, I am in trouble now. I will have to go check out Boxers.
Carol Graham recently posted..Dogs – H is for Hiding Behind the Tree