The Life of a Dog

Our family considers itself a “dog” family. We love these particular pets for their cuteness, friendliness, and perhaps most of all, because no one in our home is allergic to them. Mike and I owned an adorable, black poodle in our newlywed days. Mike’s puppy from middle school was eleven years-old when we got married. Sadly, she passed away just a few months before Brandon’s birth.

We knew we wanted another dog one day, but our circumstances did not allow it for a few years. In the meantime, we adopted a guinea pig who was, ironically, born in our own home while we babysat the kindergarten class pets during a track out. When Reese Cup died four years later, our “planned” time for getting a dog was moved up a few months, and the hunt began. Our search resulted in a black and brown cockapoo whom we added to our family two and half years ago.

Several years before she was even born, we chose the name Baci for our puppy. We knew we wanted a small black dog that we would name after our favorite candy, a chocolate-hazelnut delicacy made in Italy whose name means “kisses”.

Baci lives up to her name more than any man or beast I have ever known lives up to the name given to it! She loves to lick all over our hands and faces. And whenever Mike and I kiss on the couch - yes, after 15 years of marriage, we still kiss on the couch - it is as if an alarm has sounded. She stops whatever she is doing (usually sleeping) and tries her best to get in on the smooching!

Studying about the canine family in science class has helped us understand our little pup better. Dogs are pack animals, meaning they naturally like to live in groups. Even a tame dog put into the wild will quickly find a pack and establish its role in the group.

Within each pack, there is an alpha male (a.k.a. Mike in our family) and an alpha female (a.k.a. me). Baci clearly understands who is in charge and submits to our authority, for the most part. The rest of the pack consists of her “brothers” – Brandon, Nicholas, and Zachary. She is one of them.

Dogs will compete with one another for rank, and Baci seems to do the same with the boys, in a friendly, albeit annoying way. For example, she rings the bell on the front door to "go out” many times throughout the day, more than any creature God has made should ever need to relieve itself. I believe this is her way of fighting for some control.

Dogs also have specific duties within their pack. Baci has learned her duties: to greet visitors, to clean out the trash, and to dry the bathtub after the boys have showered. Of course, her job results in frightened guests, pieces of torn tissue all over the floor, and wet paw prints on the furniture. Yet, despite these hardships, she continues to do her duty faithfully. ** sigh **

Baci unintentionally teaches us a lot about life, as well. She displays a variety of traits that Christians should reflect: remorse, obedience, contentment, and unconditional love, to name just a few.

I often wish my dog was as well-trained as my children usually are. However, on any given day, I just do not have the energy and motivation to put into her discipline like I have put into my own offspring. Additionally, I know that she can never have a personal relationship with her Creator or a heart to please Him like my boys now have. So her obedience training is often neglected.


Still, she is making progress, and it is a joy to have one of God’s cutest creatures living in our home.


“And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind…. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:25