I learn a lot by watching the behaviors of my two dogs, Scarlet O’Hara and Daisy Duke.  First of all, I must point out that who we really are as humans is very animalistic.   Everything they do, minus the canine “handshake” (for most of us), we are pretty much guilty of doing as well.  The only thing that separates us from them is that grey area inside us that scientists claim does not exist (divinity).  Anyway, I digress.  I’m simply fascinated by their individuality and how easily it is to compare them to the archetypes of man’s personalities.

I should have never chosen the name, Scarlet O’Hara, for my first-born pooch.  She’s dramatic, demanding, and fickle.  No matter how incessantly I call her, if she doesn’t want to come, she simply sticks her little black nose into the air and saunters off the other direction.  However if I fail to feed her or take her out according to her schedule she throws her silky onyx-colored head back in the most obnoxiously demonstrative manner before expelling that undeniable bark that beckons me every time.  I then respond by frantically running about the house after her elusive leash while I watch her prance in her most annoyed fashion back and forth in front of the door, praying I will make it before she has to call me down with another bark.  Forget letting her out leashless…I would then spend the rest of the afternoon chasing her in my car while she taunts me while running ahead of it. But, if I don’t catch her, instead of coming home, she will sit somewhere and cry until I find her.  Then she’s displeased with me…and again I get called down. It’s a similar feeling to getting my name on the board as a kindergartener.  I would hate to disappoint her.  She’s Scarlet O’Hara, and in her world I’m the freakin’ help.

Now that Daisy Duke….what to say about her….She’s vain, needy, and narcissistic.  No matter who comes to our house, she’s certain that they not only want to hold her, but that they want to cradle her like a baby and shower her with affectionate words.  She must sleep in between my husband and me with her head divided over our two pillows.  She uses her hound dog cry and long face to con us all into caring for her like a newborn.  If we do opt to put her in another room while company visits or accidentally take a trip to the toilet without letting her in, she will thank us by leaving us a homemade Daisy treat somewhere we are certain to find it.  Her favorite is when we step in it.  Oh…and she will only wear pretty collars with jewels and sparkles (I’m not making this up).  She takes the generic ones off and hides them under the bed.  She’s just so very high maintenance…

Despite their flaws, I couldn’t live without them.  Scarlet snuggles me every night, surrounding me with that comforting fur I cannot sleep without.  When she looks up over her slender face with those big black eyes, I melt.  She’s so smart, and I’m amazed by her everyday.  That’s probably why she can be defiant and mischievous.  She has the mental capacity to think on her own.  She’s the leader dog and she always sees to it that Daisy gets in safely from outside.  She loves us all and keeps watch.  She’s loyal and real…a best friend.

On top of being a whiny hound, Daisy is beyond loyal.  She loves as fiercely as she wants to be loved.  If I’m sick or upset she refuses to leave my side until the pain is gone.  She even licks Scarlet lovingly if she’s under the weather.  Daisy is everyone’s best friend.  I love her dearly.

People are so much this way.  Usually the flaws and strong suits are born from the same characteristics.  The bad is easier to see sometimes than the good, but if we try it’s almost always there.  We all have a little animal in there, but looking at nature…maybe that isn’t so bad.   We just have to laugh about what’s laughable, ignore what’s ignorable, like what’s likable, and only fix what’s fixable.  Like my crazy dogs, we just have to find our places, work what we naturally are to the uttermost, and be our true selves in all we do…but if we get out of line we can rest assured someone somewhere will be waiting close by with a newspaper.