The Mystery of Dogs

I grew up with dogs. My family shares our lives with a dog. I work with dogs as a profession and as my sole source of income. I read books about dogs and I listen to podcasts about dogs. I even dream about dogs. In short, I am surrounded by dogs.

And yet, dogs remain a mystery to me.

Now don’t get me wrong, I do know a lot about dogs. In the same vein, I could (and do) say that I grew up experiencing a human existence. I share my life with humans and I interact with humans on a daily basis. I read books and watch TV programs about humans.  And yes, I even dream about humans.  And yet, the essence of what it is to be human remains a (you guessed it) mystery to me.

And I am OK with that.

I am OK with that, because I believe that in order to share your life with a dog and experience our lives as humans we have to be open to that mystery. In fact, whether we know it or not, I think it is one of the deep and primal attractions we have towards dogs.

The Monks of New Skete appropriately express this feeling of uncertainty in their work Bless The Dogs:

“Their is a paradox in our understanding of the dog. The more we learn of the dog’s evolution — of it’s behaviors and instincts, of it’s needs and desires — the more we appreciate the mystery of its nature. It is a mystery that will never be fully fathomed but that leaves with us an expanding sense of awe.”

The mystery of the dogs nature. The mystery of nature. The mystery. From the majestic mysteries of the natural world that call to us, to the man made mysteries of art that speak to us, to the small mysteries that surround our daily rhythms, we often find ourselves being drawn to and intrigued by what we cannot explain to others and to ourselves, except by saying that it is just awesome. And so we find ourselves drawn to this resilient, hilarious, compassionate, opportunistic and sometimes far too human like four legged creature that seems to understand us and begs for us to understand it.

This relationship goes beyond two species.

So, do we go deeper into this mystery, and allow it to ignite a childlike curiosity and respect for what is bigger than you and me, and your dog and my dog?

I might be biased, but I think we should.