Recently I went out of town for a family wedding and, due to circumstances, I had to leave Miles behind. Luckily, some wonderful friends of mine agreed to welcome Miles into their home for the five days I was away. Being the anxious dog-mommy I am (Miles and I are rarely apart), I wrote an entire page of instructions including Miles’ bed time habits, assuming my friends were fine with him sleeping on their bed. When I learned that they weren’t okay allowing Miles to sleep on their bed, I was so embarrassed by my dog-sitting faux-paw! This experience led me to realize that there are two types of people, those that allow their dogs to sleep with them and those that don’t.

Which type are you and what are your reasons?

I read an article in USA Today, which said having a dog can improve your health. According to the article, dogs make life friendlier, help us become more active, and help us heal.

I started to think about my relationship with my dogs and what my dogs are helping me do. They’re pretty lazy so they don’t help me become more active. In fact I think I could teach them a thing or two! However, the article also states that we learn about love through our dogs. This idea struck more of a chord for me. There is a bond that you create with your pet that isn’t unlike the bond with a child. I’ve had other dogs in my lifetime, but I think it’s at this particular time in my life — early 30s — that I really needed to learn and understand the parent/child type of love. My dogs have taught me that.

Has your dog improved your mental or physical health in some way?