The Value of Love

“Human Woman, what are you doing?” Finn asked, nose tipped up, scenting the air.

“Making a candle,” she answered

“What is that smell? Fruity.”

“It’s Smitten Kitten. And yes, it’s fruity. Valentine’s Day is coming up and this is always a popular fragrance.”

“What’s Valentine’s Day?”

“It’s the day we show our love for the special people in our lives.”

He stopped sniffing the air and sat down, hind legs sticking out in typical corgi fashion. His eyes bored into hers, liquid chocolate in their intensity.

“A single day? For celebrating love?”

“Yes,” she smiled down at him, knowing there was more to that question.

“Interesting.”

“How so?” she poured the hot wax into the container and glanced at him again as she set the pot aside.

“Dogs celebrate love every single day, not just one single day. Why do humans limit themselves?”

She looked at him, he looked back at her. “You’re right, Finnie. We should be excited about love every single day. We should give roses and chocolate and…”

“Cookies,” he interjected. “Cookies are always a good way to show your love. And belly rubs.”

“Yes. Cookies and belly rubs every single day.”

“Damn straight, Human Woman. Dogs don’t put love up on a pedestal. We live love. We lap it up like water and treats. It’s part of our daily diet. Why do humans separate it out from their daily lives? Why don’t they just live it even if it’s not romantic love? Why don’t you celebrate all types of love?”

So many questions! She plunked down on the floor in front of him, “Want a belly rub?”

“See how easy that was?” he wet-nosed her outstretched hand before rolling over onto his back.

As she sat there, thinking about it, she wondered why it was always romantic love that got the party, the attention, the spotlight. Why not all types of love? Finn’s hind leg thumped softly on the linoleum. She grinned.

He’s right, she thought, if we could make each other this happy every single day, just by showing a little love, we wouldn’t need to be told we were special on just one single day. We would simply live love, breathe it in as automatically as we breathe air. It would be part and parcel of our lives, no matter what kind of love or where it came from.

 And then she understood what Valentine’s Day could never teach, that the special attention, the excitement, and the pretty treats are great, but the consistent heart, during all of the ups and downs of life, is greater.

"Hey Finn," she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Want a cookie?"

"I love you, too, Human Woman. I love you, too."

 

 

In Which Finnegan Begins Dating

Finnegan met an older woman. A blonde with a cute wiggle and a fluffy butt. Penelope, the fairest corgi of them all. Oh dear. Young corgi love. There was a great deal of mutual waggling and sniffing and play bows and then the embarrassing moment when his human had to pull him off the little darling.
"You mustn't do that. You just met!"
"We're dogs. Courtship takes three minutes. After that we're pretty comfortable."
"Well, I'm not!"
"Aw, come on. Look at her! She's adorable!"
"Yes. Adorable. But you need to treat her like a lady."
"Dogs are different, just so you understand."
"I do understand. But is it too much to ask that you display some manners? I'd like to remain on speaking terms with her human. Being polite is important."
He cocked his head and regarded her with serious eyes. Her request wasn't outrageous. Silly, yes, but not outrageous. These human creatures had some odd rules, dancing anxiously around topics that corgis just simply met head on. Interesting.
"Ok. I shall treat the fair Penelope as my muse. Hey, do we have any volumes of Shakespeare lying around? He was a kid with a flair for pretty words. I could use some good quotes."
She blinked. And then she held her breath. How the heck did he know about Shakespeare?
"You don't want to know," he laughingly woofed over his shoulder, reading her mind again. "You don't want to know!"
Finnegan loped away from her, back to where Penelope was sniffing rabbit droppings among a patch of wild yellow daisies. Clearly, Shakespeare was another topic for another day. She went back and sat down at the picnic table. She made friendly conversation with Penelope's father while observing her boy romping about in the sun with his new girlfriend. And in that moment she had an inkling of how every mom feels the moment her son experiences that first serious crush. Oh. My. God. It was going to be a long summer.

Woof You. Found You.

"Finnegan, I met the poet Daniel Ladinsky."
"Did he speak to you in rhyming couplets?"
"No. But he told me to learn my birthday poem."
Finnegan sat, stubby hind legs sticking straight out as Corgi legs do in a sit. He regarded her with all seriousness. She waited, almost knowing what he was about to ask. And he did.
"What the hell is a birthday poem and do I have one?"
"It is a poem published under the calendar day of one's birth. He published a book with a poem for each day. And yes, you do have one."
"Good. I hate being ignored. Why did he tell you to learn yours?"
"Because it has a message in it that I would find useful."
Finnegan stared. Humans were so silly, putting pencils to scraps of paper and writing words down. They should just know that they were like dogs, and dogs were born with poetry already filling them up to their noses. Beauty and truth residing in every scratch, every sniff, every gallumping run of joy across the beach. Each dog a written celebration of life. Why didn't humans know the same was true for them? For all living creatures? Curious.
"What's the line in my birthday poem that best describes me?" he asked.
She smiled and opened the book, smoothing the page. She read a moment, for it was a long poem, but then she laughed and shook her head in disbelief.
"Perfect," she murmured.
"So read me perfect."

"Love creates a home wherever it is. Love is really never in want. True love is always in a state of found."

Finnegan smiled his Corgi smile. That was him exactly. True love found. He stood and wiggled his round bottom. He trotted forward and pushed his handsome head between her shins, huffing a sigh of contentment.
"Woof you," his voice was muffled against her jeans. But she heard him. Oh, how she heard him.
She reached down, scratched his white ruff and felt the world steady beneath her feet. How had she gotten so lucky to have this little guy come into her heart?
"Because you knew me as soon as you saw me. You knew I was your home," he woofed, looking up at her with happy eyes.
"Woof you too," she whispered, "woof you big time, baby."

Big ears hear even the smallest words.

They were sitting at the top of a hill, soaking up late autumn sunshine and the scent of pine on the breeze. Finn's large, tulip-shaped ears were flicked forward. He was listening intently to something down below and miles away. She leaned over and draped her arm about his chubby little self. He gave her a quick glance before turning his attention back to his particular fascination.

"What do you hear?" She whispered.

"Other dogs. You can hear them if you just pay attention."

She sat up straight and waited. Sure enough, on the next flush of chilly air she could hear a faint barking and then over to her left another series of barks. 

"Oh. They're talking to one another?"

"Of course. Did you think we dogs just randomly bark up and down the valley for no reason?"

"Well it never occurred to me that dogs, living so far apart, were actually conversing! That's wonderful! What are they saying?"

Finn huffed and turned to face her. Humans were so silly. She could understand him perfectly and yet it never crossed her mind that she could easily understand other dogs. Why? Because she loved only him? Did love make all humans so deaf? They only really heard the words of those they cared about most?

"One of them is saying he just had a great fence run. He scared the mail carrier. The other one congratulated him and is now talking about the new bone her owner gave her on Thanksgiving."

"Oh. That's it?"

Finn grinned as only a Corgi can. "You were expecting philosophy perhaps?"

She nudged him and they both laughed. But secretly, yes, she had hoped for some tiny bit of unexpected wisdom. She scratched him between his ears. He leaned into it and made a little gurgling noise of contentment. Hmm.That little bit of contact between skin and fur, that bit of canine warmth and human touch, made her realize that it wasn't always the content of the conversation that was important. Maybe it was the need to keep connections alive. Knowing that someone, next door or down the road, wants to acknowledge your presence in this big world, was comforting. Perhaps talking about the mundane bits of daily life could be just as important as those one-on-one conversations that delve far deeper.

Maybe listening with big ears wasn't always about what the other dog was saying. Maybe it was about letting the other dog know that she is being heard. 

Some goodbyes are good.

His human had been strangely quiet all day. At one point she had sat down on the floor and put her head atop her knees and made that soft crying noise he hated. He clambered up onto her shins and nudged his face into hers, licking that awful salty stuff off her face.
"Oh! Finnie! It's OK. Really! It's Ok!" She protested.
"You're leaking water! It's a disaster!We could all drown!"
"She burst out laughing and snuggled his anxious face between her hands and held it still. Her wet eyes were smiling into his.
"Finnie. I am crying because our home is no longer ours. And I'm sad and happy at the same time. I couldn't make it a home for us anymore so now, maybe someone else can make it a proper home. And you are here and we are safe. Who knows what will happen next?" She nuzzled his wet nose. "It's an ad-ven-ture." She whispered.
He wiggled his stubby tail and barked with relief. He LOVED adventures!
"Do we get to wear pith helmets and pants with lots of pockets for treats?" He asked.
"Absolutely."
"Well then. Let's get going!"
"Maybe we should just start with a walk and some Pupperoni? I'll look into the pith helmets tomorrow."
He smiled up at her. She looked better when her face was dry and smiling. What a relief!
"Human person," he said thoughtfully, "I just want you to know that you are my only home."
She bit her lower lip and then sat back down and gathered him into her lap in such a fierce hug he squeaked.
"Thank goodness for you!" She whispered into his big ears. "Thank goodness for the love of my little Olympian!"
"The love of your awesome, wondrous, amazing, stupendous Olympian!" He barked playfully, giving the side of her face a big wet one.
Magic. He would show her all of it! Then she wouldn't mind so much, not having that particular house anymore. With him leading the way she was going to have so much fun living in the world she would feel at home no matter where they journeyed together. She would learn what all Corgis were born knowing: the person you love is your home, not four walls, a soft bed and a food dish. Possessions are not a home. A home is where your heart resides. And when someone loves you unconditionally, your heart needs no other shelter.

C'mon! It's morning!

Clearly there was something unusual to the start of her day. It involved a 30lb Corgi sitting on top of her head. And a mouthful of wiggling, happy dog fur. She reached up with both hands, tugged once and he rolled down onto her chest. Before she could draw a proper breath she was being swabbed by a Gene Simmons-like tongue.
"Pffft! Finnie, stop!"
"But you need help waking up!' He insisted. 
"Blech! You need toothpaste!"
"I don't do toothpaste, I do chew bones. C'mon! C'mon! C'mon! It's MORNING!"
He scooted off and snuggled into her armpit. Still wiggling. She wondered how such a long dog could squeeze himself into such tiny spaces. 
 "Because one size fits all when there's love involved," He told her.
She grinned. Mind reader. He smiled back, panting. Time for breakfast. Time for leashing up. Time to go say good morning to wild rabbits and the cat next door who liked to kiss him on the nose. She sat up. Finnegan bounded onto the floor and scurried over to the door. "C'mon! C'mon! C'mon!"
Oh boy. Her little Olympian was full of piss and vinegar today.