I'm sitting here listening to Michael Savage and just felt like writing this.  This is going to be sappy beyond belief, but maybe I need a change of pace from talking about how great I am...hahaha....kidding.  Anyway, he took a call from a guy who just buried his dog, and while the guy was burying his dog, a cop pulled up and gave him a citation and now the guy has to pay a fine.  Why?  Because the area this guy lives in has a government agency that handles this and charges people to "dispose" of the dog.  So because this guy wanted to handle the burial of his dog himself, he gets a fine because he's undercutting the money the government would get.  Yes, this is the America we live in.  He wasn't doing this in some public park or anything like that at all.  He picked a secluded area where he and his dog used to walk, and decided to bury him there.  Yet he's fined by the government.

Well after that call, Savage started talking a lot about his dogs and it really hit home.  Why?  He was describing dogs and posed a question that really hit home.  He asked what other living thing would jump around and get excited every single time you come home.  He was saying kids won't do that...they'll be tuned into TV or playing video games or whatever.  But a dog will jump around and bark and run up to you and almost knock you over every single time.  When he was talking about this, I started thinking about my dogs because of what else he said.  He said it used to annoy him when they would jump on him and almost tear his clothes, but now he just lets them do it.  It's because one of them is so old it can't do it anymore.

When I was listening to this, I was thinking about how every single time I pull into my driveway, Vick comes running up to the gate, starts barking and turns around three times then runs into the garage waiting for me to come outside.  Of course now I have Jessi as well, so I get greeted by the both of them every time I get home.  When I go to unlock the back door to go outside, they are both right there almost clawing at the door.  As soon as I open it they both stick their heads inside wanting to be petted.  Jessi will jump around like a jumping bean, and Vick will start to run out into the backyard while looking over his shoulder at me to see if I'm going to throw the ball around.  It's the same thing every time, and I never get tired of it.  Anytime I have had a crappy day or feel stressed out, when I pull into my driveway I start to smile when I see Vick, and now Jessi, start jumping around and barking because I'm home.  I literally love them both like they were my kids.  Granted Jessi has only been here for about 2 months, but I guess it's like when parents have another child.  Oh yeah, I said this was going to be sappy.  I got Jessi so Vick could have a playmate because I always felt so guilty when he'd spend all day by himself.

And now that the weather is getting colder, I can't wait to start bringing them inside some at night.  I'll never forget one night shortly after Christmas last year when I brought Vick inside.  I was off work the whole week and was online very late one night.  Vick was asleep in the doorway of the room where my PC is, almost like he was guarding it.  I just sat there looking at him thinking about how cool it was.   I've got all the Christmas decorations up, so I'll be posting a new photo soon with me, Vick, and Jessi all in front of my Christmas tree.  Yes, I know it's corny but I'm looking forward to it.

I love my dogs beyond belief, especially their personalities.  Remember the line in "Pulp Fiction" where Jules said "dogs have personality...and personality goes a long way"?  As much of a pain as they can be, I wouldn't trade the time with them for anything.  Now I am NOT going to go into some rant about dating, but I love my dogs so much because they're like me...they don't make issues out of bs, they don't create drama, they just have a mentality of "pet me, play with me, feed me" and in doing so they love you unconditionally.  It's no wonder that dogs are called man's best friend.  I love the times where I'm sitting in chair in the backyard telling Vick my problems and he'll be like "yeah that's great...can we throw the ball around???"  He honestly puts me in a frame of mind to forget all the petty crap.

I really didn't plan on writing anything tonight, but after I heard this bit on Michael Savage's show I decided to.  Plus, one of my best friends ever just had his dog put to sleep last week, and hearing about it was devastating.  I'm sure nowhere near what he went through, but it did hit me because his dog was like a nephew to me if that makes any sense at all.  When he told me about that, I came home that night and just sat there outside with Vick and Jessi for a long time.  I do not deal well with death at all, be it a family member or a pet as ridiculous as it might sound.  I had an older sister that died when I was 11 years old, and it still screws me up sometimes.  So when someone loses a person or a pet that they were close to, I truly never know what to say because I remember people trying their best to say something to make me feel better but it never did.  I don't blame them at all, they were trying.

You know, I had no idea where I was going with all this tonight, but maybe now I do.  This past year my mom had a major battle with cancer that she is thankfully recovering from, praise God.  When I went to visit my parents for Thanksgiving, I was silently thanking God the whole time that my mom was able to get through everything to be able to make a Thanksgiving dinner.  Not like I was only glad I could eat well, you know what I mean...hahaha.  But when me and my parents and my little sister sat down to eat dinner, I don't know if I had every been so appreciative of the family I have.  It's that time of year when we are supposed to be thinking about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and to also be spending time with families and friends.  I think it really hit me that I have so much to be thankful for it's beyond belief.  I have a few very close GREAT friends that are like my brothers, I have a great family with my parents and little sister, and I have two dogs that will bark and jump around because they are excited to see me come home from work tomorrow.

God, family, friends, and dogs....what more could I honestly ask for in my life?  Hey, I warned you this would be sappy.  Need more?  Here's a picture I took of Vick and Jessi two days ago.  Yeah I know, I hate how the flash makes their eyes blue-green...but you get the idea.  Funny thing is, Vick looks small in this picture because I'm standing on a step when I took this.  Even though he's just about as tall as I am when he stand on his hind legs (and I'm 6'2"), he'll always be my little buddy.