5 Ways Dogs Make Us Better Humans

I don’t talk about my dog here as often as I would like, but that is about to change. It’s not because I don’t have enough stories about her, it’s quite the opposite. Our dog could have her own section here if I shared the craziness I go through with her day in and day out. Where do I even begin? Meet Charlotte aka Charlie aka Cha Cha our family fur baby! Yes, she is a pit bull.

I know, I know, we should only have one name for our dog but we seem to be a family that breaks all the rules. Pinky named her Charlotte and the Little Man couldn’t pronounce her name so it became Cha Cha. We call her Charlie for short.

The Story of Charlotte

Charlotte came to us on a cold and rainy December morning in 2014. Daddy was headed for work and the kids were up and ready for their daily chocolate from their Trader Joe’s Advent Calendar. Daddy left after we said our goodbyes. Then 20 minutes later the door opens and he is standing there, wet, shaking puppy in hand. It was the cutest thing ever. I remember his words clearly, “I know you have a busy day, but I didn’t know what else to do.” The kids were in shock as Daddy, heroic Daddy placed the little pup on our laps. Then he said, “I gotta go!”

Oh my goodness. It was a busy day indeed, I was hosting a big event that night and Pinky had to get ready for school. Now we had a peeing pup to take care of. I couldn’t be mad though. My husband just saved a puppy from the bitter cold. I told him jokingly, “wow, you really do have a heart!” He seemed really excited and happy to bring baby Charlotte home. I think in his heart of hearts he knew she’d be with us for the long haul. But I had to find out who this puppy belonged to. I did what any reasonable person would do, I took to Facebook and the rest was history.

It turned out that our old neighbors and good friends knew the owners. She sent me a photo of her daughter with the puppy taken the night before. What are the odds!? I was relieved and emotional at the same time. While Daddy was the hero in this story I was going to have to be the bad guy telling the kids that we had to return the puppy back to their rightful owners. And I was. I broke the news to them as easily as I could. Who am I kidding, I told them straight out – we found the owner, gotta giver her back. I wasn’t ready for a puppy. I just got used to having a second child!

Then things took an interesting turn. The owners couldn’t keep her and asked if we wanted to take her in. It was all on me now. I decided to say yes and surprise the family. Boy was I in for my own surprise…every day. To this day, she is an angel to Daddy and the kids. When it comes to me, it’s another story. Through it all though, I’ve come to accept Charlotte into our family. We have definitely had to make some changes. And despite the strife she puts me through I love her and am glad that we have her. She completes our family and her presence makes me a better person…at least I try to be. This photo was taken on the day we found her and decided to take her in. It’s imperfect in so many ways, but I love it.

5 Ways Dogs Makes Us Better Humans

We met with a dog trainer recently and he gave us some good insight about what it means to have a dog. I won’t discuss it all here now, but he said something that really made sense. He said that training can help us turn our dogs into housemates, not just our dogs. That struck a cord with me. I always thought of her as a part of the family, but I have been so stressed out since she came into our lives almost two years ago. I wasn’t ready for a dog. I wanted to have a yard and a bigger home, but God has jokes for me. I must have been praying for patience at the time because Lord help me, I had to have, and still have to have, a lot of it when it comes to Charlotte. She really is like another kid. She is needy, she cries, I have to clean up after her. I can go on. I will admit it hasn’t been pretty, but in an effort to look on the positive side I have noticed that she has made everyone in our family better people.

Here are 5 ways dogs make us better humans!

Dogs teach us patience every day. Yes, let’s start here. Humans must be patient with puppies, or else why have them. It takes a while to get them to do something, like pee outside, but with consistency, training, repetition and a lot of love our dogs will get there. We have to be patient and believe in them.

Dogs show us what it means to be loyal. This is a given. Dogs are the most loyal animals on the planet. Even when you’ve shown them you’re upset at them they still come running to you to see what they can do to please you. Dogs are very smart animals and very in tune with our body language. Along with loyalty is unconditional love, dogs are so good at giving this a hundred times over.

Dogs live in the moment. I think I love this reason the most. If we lived life like our dogs we would be so happy! They chase butterflies, sometimes mailmen, they bathe in the sun and roll around in the grass – not something I would ever do but you get the gist. They live for the moment. Charlotte loves running water. When we go on walks I turn the swim shower on by our pool and she goes to town trying to catch every drop. Wet grass and sprinklers are not her preference though. When we come home they get down and wag their tails ready to pounce. Their energy is often contagious helping bring our mood up.

I think this means, “thank you for my walk!” #dogsmiles #pitbullsofinstagram #stillintraining #stillapuppy

A photo posted by Angela Quisumbing (@the_pinky_project) on Apr 22, 2016 at 12:05pm PDT

Dogs remind us to play and exercise. Our furry companions have a ton of energy and it needs to be released on a daily basis. Having a dog gives us an excuse to get out and play, sometimes even socialize. Whether it’s a nice walk, a good run or just a visit to the park our dogs make us better by taking us out on adventures. My favorite time with Charlotte is when we go running on the weekends, early before everyone wakes up. It’s nice because we spend time together and we both get a good workout.

Dogs teach us responsibility. I’m adding this one mostly because it is Pinky’s responsibility to feed Charlotte. However, it does teach us as adults too. I believe that taking care of another person or animal makes us better overall. We learn to place the needs of others first. By feeding and nurturing our furry friends we become better in so many ways.

How has your pet made you a better person? Tell us your story in the comments below.