Things I Learned About Love through My Dog

I had a phase where I was quite lonely and I needed someone to love, but I wasn’t quite ready with the possible drama that might be brought about by another human being. I witnessed how my friend had a wonderful relationship with her dog, and I thought to myself how much I wanted my own, since I used to take care of a dog when I was in college. You could say that I’m a dog lover.

After many sleepless nights of looking over OLX, Facebook pages, going to Tiendesitas and asking around through my friends, I was able to find the perfect dog for me! My mother didn’t want a big nor a hairy dog, so we agreed that I would get a chihuahua. I drove all the way to Binondo (my first time!) to get him.

And there he was, I decided to name him Rusty. He was quite reserved, and was shaking throughout the ride home, ears pulled back. I thought to myself, “he’ll get used to us eventually, after a few weeks he won’t be shy at all”.

Little did I know that Rusty has a unique personality, he’s quite reserved and easily scared. Months passed up to know it is still quite difficult to make him approach us by himself. He’s opening up now, slowly, but still his temperament is deeply embedded in him. At first, I found it unfair that the reason I got a dog is for me to be happy. But I stopped there and realized that maybe God has a purpose why He allowed me to have Rusty. Here are some things that God has taught me about love, through having Rusty:

1. Love entails patience and sacrifice

Every morning, I allot time to clean up Rusty’s poop and pee in our house. I can’t tell him to clean it up, since he is incapable of doing so. This is my daily sacrifice for him. I spend time to do all of these things for him, as well as giving him baths, paying for vaccines, food and everything to keep him healthy. I learned that I should provide without asking for anything in return.

2. Love isn’t about “what’s in it for me” but it is about “what can I give”

I accepted the responsibility to taking care of a dog with the mindset leaning towards the fact that it can make me happy. Yes, it did make me happy, but even more so, it taught me not to look at what benefits I can get out of having him, but rather what I can give to him.

3. Love gives room to grow

The fact that Rusty is not fond of approaching me and will be scared at times upset me initially. I envied other owners whose dogs listen to them or even try hard to make their masters notice them. I had thoughts of selling him or giving him to someone else and buying another dog. However, I know that my heart is already committed to him, and I refused to give him up. Slowly he learned to come to me to ask for a pat on his head. He will also run around the house out of excitement when I come home. I realized that his way of expressing his love is quite different from other dogs. Rusty is also very smart, I taught him some tricks such as shaking hands, high five and playing dead.

4. The way I learned to love my dog taught me how to see myself in God’s eyes

I saw myself like Rusty. He is difficult, he drives me nuts at times, and he does things that may upset me. We too are difficult people, quick to falter and do things that may upset God. But God loves us unconditionally, that He is patient with us, gives us time to grow and most especially He gave us His greatest sacrifice–the blood of His Son–to redeem us. These realizations from my dog are nothing but mere illustrations of the depth of love that God has for us.

If you have the time, resources and patience to take care of a dog, or a pet for that matter, I encourage you to do so. If I am given a chance, I wouldn’t have it any other way because I know that having a dog taught me a lot of things.