One of Those People
I never thought I'd be one of those people. You know the kind. Dog lovers... but not just dog lovers, EXTREME DOG LOVERS! Fanatical, over the top, dress-them-up, save them at all costs-people. I didn't get it. I've seen two separate neighbor friends whose dogs were the one constant friend & companion who saw them through broken relationships, moving, deaths and general loneliness with unconditional love. I understood their human/dog relationship more, but pragmatically still thought that wouldn't be me. What’s more, is I was judgy (yes, that’s a word) towards the extremes people went through for their pets. Our family adopted a dog when our 3 kids were very young. In hindsight, it wasn’t the greatest time. A couple years went by and we had our 4th baby. I was in the midst of living with my yet undiagnosed bipolar disorder. The reality was that I was trying to cope with a life of severe depression mixed with the manic "highs" of anger and