Golis: Why do we love our animals?

It’s awkward to write about the death of a dog. People lose their pets every day without making a public show of their sadness.

Still, I’ve learned from friends’ experiences and now from my own experience that losing a pet can be tough. When someone else’s pet dies, we commiserate. Well, that’s too bad. When our own pet dies, it hurts the heart in surprising ways.

It hurts so much that some people vow never to bring another pet into their lives - until, of course, they bring another pet into their lives.

I don’t consider myself a dog person (whatever that means), but there will be another dog in our house. Maybe not right away. But soon.

Teddy, who was 11 years old, was diagnosed with bone cancer of the spine. It came on fast. Not long ago, people would ask, “How old is your puppy?” He was enthusiastic.

Watching him struggle to walk as his back legs collapsed beneath him was heartbreaking.

Suspecting the bad news to come, we hunkered down and spent the last weekend with him. We will be forever grateful for the opportunity to do that. He was the most wonderful dog - loving, exuberant, happy. We take turns crying.

Should I admit that I cried when my dog died? It seems so unmanly, and he was just a dog, after all.

We try to make sense of our relationships with our pets, but it isn’t always easy to do.

Google “why do we love out pets?” and you’ll get 212 million responses.

I won’t be reading them all, but we can guess that experts (and others) write about the unconditional love available to dog owners and about a feeling we all share - the need to be needed.

Why did we love our dog? He was fun, for sure, and he returned our affections with unbridled eagerness. He was a friend, a companion, a playmate, an entertainer, an exercise partner, a presence in our lives and our family.

Everyone liked him - and I’m not just saying that. When we walked in the neighborhood this past week, people asked, “Where’s Teddy?”

He probably would have been the same happy dog with anyone, but as dog owners, we embrace the notion that we are somehow special. That’s part of the arrangement, isn’t it?

Earlier this year, a story in Wired magazine wondered if Americans “care more about their pets than people?”

The short answer: Sometimes.

Anyone who has worked at a newspaper understands. Stories about injuries to animals often generate more responses that stories about injuries to people.

Wired went on to note what one critic called “the paradox of the cats in our houses and the cows on our plates.”

Not being a vegetarian, I acknowledge this paradox, even if I have no idea how to explain it.

Even politicians love their dogs (or at least feel the need to pretend to love their dogs).

Franklin Roosevelt had “my little dog, Fala.” Richard Nixon’s dog, Checkers, gave his name to a famous speech. Lyndon Johnson picked up his beagle by its ears. Bill Clinton’s dog, Buddy, was the only member of the family who wanted to be around him after the Lewinsky scandal. The Obamas own a Portuguese water dog, Bo (who has his own entry in Wikipedia).

“(Owning a dog) humanizes them,” Claire McLean, founder of the Presidential Pet Museum, told the New York Times. “It shows they are just like you and me, with the kids and the dog.” (Speaking of the power of animals, who knew there was a Presidential Pet Museum?)

Republicans are left to ponder the political prospects of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. It’s his misfortune to be the only candidate for president who is allergic to dogs.

At times like this, we wish it were otherwise, but measured in human terms, dogs don’t live very long. That’s just the way it is.

We loved Teddy, and we tell ourselves our sadness is the price of having 11 years with a wonderful and spirited dog. This is no doubt true, and over time, it will salve our sense of loss.

For now, I’m surprised when Teddy doesn’t greet me at the door, and I’m surprised when he isn’t waiting at the foot of the bed when I get up in the morning. Where is he, anyway?

Pete Golis is a columnist for The Press Democrat. Email him at golispd@gmail.com.