<b>By Tracie Korol</b>

We just came through the Day of Gratitude around a groaning dining table and we declared gratefulness for friends, family and the beautiful day.  How many of us reserved a few moments to consider the many reasons to feel thankful for our Best Friends. Next time you’re giving thanks, remember to honor the ones who don’t judge but actually love, the ones that live with you without rules and expectations, the ones that will always give you unconditional loyalty.

Here are some of MY reasons to be thankful for dogs:

<b>10. </b>No matter what food product drops on the floor, a Best Friend will hoover it up before actually considering what it is.  Once it’s on the floor, anything is food. A dog is the finest accessory to child-rearing: they’ll catch the highchair spillover before it hits the floor, clean up messy baby splooges and always be available to assist with messy faces and fingers. They’ll catch the crumbs you can’t even see.

<b>9. </b>When you’re down and out with the flu, hacking and snotting and leaving a trail of bacteria wherever you go, and your family and friends will not come near you, your dog will ever be at your side. He’ll be your mobile heating pad, curled against your aching back, he’ll shuffle along with you when you get another cup of tea and he’ll keep his head near your hand in case you need some reassurance that you’ll live to see the next day.

<b>8.</b> Your dog will bark like mad when someone pulls in the drive or a stranger comes to the door. It’s nice to have a feeling of security.

<b>7. </b>If not for our dogs, many of us would never get off the couch. Every day at the same time our Best Friends give us The Look, that persistent stare that means “Let’s go for a walk!!! Huh?Huh?Huh?”  That walk is your dog’s connection to the world, and yours, too. Think about all the nice people you’ve met, the early evening sunset you would otherwise have missed if you weren’t on the road, as well as the extra pounds you did not gain because you and your Best Friend moved your tails.

<b>6.</b> A dog’s loyalty cannot be measured. They are willing to revel in the glory or keep quiet and take the blame. They will not smirk when you’re naked, laugh at your singing or gossip to the neighbor dogs about your episodes of questionable behavior. They will never disclose who done it.

<b>5.</b> Our dogs don’t care how many countries we’ve visited, what car we drive or what people we know. In their eyes, we’re number one all the time. It’s a tall order to always be on top but their devotion is a great reminder of our jobs to make sure we provide them the best care, training and attention we can offer. “Be the person your dog thinks you are” is a great reminder of how special we are to them each and every day.

<b>4. </b>Our dogs know the value of sitting in a sunbeam. There are times we need to be reminded of that.

<b>3. </b>Dogs put things in perspective. Let’s face it, at some point in our lives with our pets something is going to get chewed, thrown up on or otherwise ruined. The best we can do is realize that the shoes, carpets and all the other things they get into are just objects. We’ll never love any of that stuff as much as we love our dogs and as impossible as it seems, we will get over having to throw out the really expensive, designer, prescription, chewed-up eyeglasses.

<b>2. </b>Dogs will make you smile when they run with abandon for no particular reason and to no particular destination.

<b>1. </b>And finally, every day we can wake up and watch our dogs embrace each new morning as if it is going to be grand. They don’t look back; they don’t worry about the future. They do not hold the past. They assume all is great. I try to learn from them because I think they Get It. I think they really know what it means to live each day as if it’s the only day, and live it to the fullest. I am so grateful for dogs. What great teachers they are.
<div></div>