Maya

Having a dog has been an interesting ride.

My wife and I currently don't have any of our own kids, but we do have a dog.  Her name is Maya and we got her back in 2008 as a puppy.  She is a Brittany.  Most of you are going, "What's a Brittany?"  Here she is only a few months old:

Ever since we've gotten Maya she has had an exceptional personality.  She's always been full of energy, curious, and loves to have fun.  Anyone who has met her knows that she is one of the nicest, most gentle dogs one could meet.

Curiosity has always been a trait Maya exhibits.  She never lets us walk around without her at our side.  When we come home, she needs to inspect us, as well as anything we are carrying.  Heaven forbid we came from a place that had another dog.  Our windows are at the perfect height for her to put her front paws on and look out.  It's hard to describe the look she makes when something sparked her attention.  Her ears get perked and her eyes get big, then she'll cock her head to one side.  I wish I had a picture of it.

Maya also loves the outdoors.  Probably a little too much actually.  We can't go on enough walks to satisfy her desire.  There aren't enough squirrels in the neighborhood for her to look at (yes there are).  Going up to our family's cottage on Lake Michigan has quickly become her favorite past time.  Maya will sprint as fast as she can down the steps to the beach and roar into the water.  If we let her, she would never leave.

When she plays hard, she crashes hard:

Her favorite spot in the whole house is on top of a chair we have in front of our corner windows in our family  room.  This perch is where she can survey the whole front and side yard, as well as the neighborhood as far as she can see.  Here is a  picture I took of her on said perch.  She looks annoyed that I've distracted her from her duty of being a watch dog.  In actuality, if someone where to break in she would offer a flashlight and a beverage.

Overall, having a dog is hard work, but it's a lot of fun.  She's spoiled only because we don't have any actual kids yet.  She's our only child for now.  It's amazing to me that an animal can capture so much of my heart.  I know people who don't have pets don't or can't understand, but if anything were to happen to Maya it would be heart-wrenching.  Just the other night, in fact, we came home and I let Maya out of the car.  As always she runs into our front yard to sniff around the bushes where she sees squirrels from the inside.  However, Maya decides to continue running around the house (I don't know if she saw something, or she was just doing it because it was fun to run away from me).  Next thing I know she is multiple houses down and completely out of sight.  Keep in mind it's pitch black out.

So Anna runs in to get the flashlight and I took off down the street in search of this *cussing* dog.  As I was walking and calling her name, the thought kept running through my head of what if she never comes back?  What if she tries to cross the street and in the cover of darkness gets hit by a passing car?  My heart naturally began to pound a little harder and my steps a little quicker.  I say a quick prayer, and just then Anna calls me to say she came back.  

Relief.  

I continually think about what would happen if something were to happen to her.  When we go away and someone else watches her, I get a little nervous.  Understand I have complete trust and faith in those who watch Maya, however, there is a nagging thought of "what if?".  She's only an animal after all.  It's crazy, but this little 30-pound fur ball is part of our family.  We have to constantly be thinking about her needs as well as ours.  Crazy I tell you.  It's so hard to explain.

Having a dog is fun, most the time anyway.  Maya is certainly entertaining.  Naughty at times, but certainly entertaining.  Anna and I wouldn't trade her for the world.  I imagine there are a lot of parallels to having kids.