Many of us have heard the song from the movie Grease, “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” but do we really understand the context of the term devoted? We might think of love, adoration or respect, but if we look up the word in Miriam Webster, this little adjective connotates the emotion of loyalty in addition to the other descriptive feelings of love. Loyalty implies creating a strong and unbreakable bond. This emotion we can learn from our dogs….
Humans sometimes fail us, marriages end, our children sometimes stray away from the family, and our friends sometimes disappoint. But our dog’s devotion to us never waivers. Never.
Our dogs do not care if we are crabby or have a bad day. They happily greet us when we get home after a tough day. Even when we get cross and take out our frustration on them, they cheerfully forgive us as if our transgression on them never happened.
To them, every day is a new beginning of a lifelong journey of acceptance that might be shown in a happy tail way, a sloppy dog kiss, or even a simple “lean in” for a warm embrace. No matter what our mood, frustrations or anxiety, our faithful canine friend welcomes us to their space and forgives us unconditionally for any slight we created.
We could learn a thing or two from our dogs. Forgive the unforgivable, ignore the ignorant, and love those that we sometimes deem unlovable. Maybe then, will we understand the true meaning of the word “devoted.”
At Lizzy’s Fund, the above life lesson is part of what guides our mission. We want everyone to understand that senior dogs deserve a second chance. They may not have had good previous life experiences, but their devotion to their new forever family will never waiver. They will be eternally grateful for the second chance that we give them. What we should remember is that, for a senior dog, every day is a gift. In this season of love, please consider adopting an older dog and give them the opportunity to show their devotion to you.
