Pet Party Line is a column written by Beth Byrd and is featured weekly in The Citizen News, one of our local newspapers.

Why We Adopt

         This week’s column focuses on why you need to adopt a dog. Through out the ages, our lives with dogs have been documented - from cave art to our modern culture. Today a bumper sticker might read "We're staying together for the sake of the dog!" The human-animal bond is thriving because people and dogs are so similar. We both love our families, enjoy snuggling in our dens, relish social bonds, and respect loyalty. Dogs exist in almost every size and shape imaginable and range from pampered lapdogs (who give new meaning to the term "dog-tired"), to courageous canines who are trained for search and rescue.

         Dogs make us feel good--and are good for us. They have a positive effect on our health and well being. Dogs help us most of all by giving us an important outlet for our love. About 6 out of 10 U.S. households have pets, whereas only 3 out of 10 have children. Once our children grow up- and the nest empties--dogs take on a greater importance. In today’s world, many of us live alone, whether due to divorce, choosing to remain childless, surviving a spouse or partner, or having a far-flung extended family. Too much time alone can leave us sick and even shorten our lives. Lucky for us, our canine companions provide emotional rescue for everything from a relationship breakup, a bad day at work, a bad hair day- or even a no hair day for those facing cancer treatment. Dogs love us for simply being who and what we are. They don't care if we're rich and famous- we're all that and more in their eyes.

         At the end of the day, we may never know whether those loving eyes shine for us or for the treat drawer, but when a tap-dancing, delighted frenzy of fur greets you at the door with a red-carpet welcome, it hardly seems to matter. They love us, heal us, teach us, make us laugh and sometimes break our hearts with their passing. As author Roger Caras once said "Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole."

Quote of the week:

"To your dog, you are the greatest, the smartest, the nicest human being who was ever born." - Louis Sabin