On the more serious side...
Dogs (animals in general but primarily K-9s & Lupine) have been a near constant companion in my world; my confidant, protector, companion and teacher. When, in my youth, my father would set into one of his "let's beat the family" tirades it was my habit to escape, hiding in the dog house (quite literally... but it was a large dog house).
When I had my accident in the early 80s and broke my back it was the gift of a Doberman Pincher puppy that made my day; Osiris, as he was known, making certain that I had the things I need (he actually retrieved things for me) and likewise gave me a good chuckle every now and then... especially when it came to his love of avocados and willingness to climb the trees to get to them.
Sadly, the last such companions I had were a Wolf named Kahli-Ma and a coon-hound named Samhain (
Sammy -- he came into our life on Halloween weekend... go figure). Though both ended up in good home settings, they were two of the biggest sacrifices I had to make in the early on-set of my health failure. But like so many before them, they taught me a great deal about unconditional love, forgiveness, the importance of family (the pack) and so much more.
Animals are highly underrated by human beings. Fortunately there are those who are willing to study them and find how intelligent they really are and even how we might better communicate with them vs. commanding them and placing them in servitude.
With all the corn aside, this is a very deep and personal issue to me in that I've learned that I can trust and depend upon animals far more than I can many a human being. But then, animals don't tend to work with an agenda or the need for political grand-standing.
