Diligence Jones

It's funny how we let dogs into our homes/lives. They've got big teeth; big heavy paws with claws. They used to be dangerous.

But I'm doting on this guy, calling him Schmoopie face and Bubba and Fartacus. Diligently feeding him treats by hand, checking his ears, teeth and poops. Wiping his ouchie spots. Leaning over him as he sleeps, watching his chest rise and fall, listening to him snore. The only person I do this for is my 79 yo father. After heart surgery.

We probably have a lot of conditions for the people we let into our lives.

But dogs...we open our hearts wide. We scoop them up and never look back. We take their love and run.

#dogs
#dogsOfBayArea #DogsOfMastodon
#BensonUpdate

Jun 3, 2023 at 12:12amWeb
Show threadNotMaddie!Jun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina I've often thought of this...dogs are a mess but we still love them so much.
Show threadouinneJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina i. have watched Chloe bite through a half-inch-thick cotton rope the way I would bite a stick of gum in two, yet every day I give her a pill by putting my finger in the corner of her mouth to open jaws that could easily take that finger clean off.
But she is my baby, so I don’t even think about it. (Her sister is also my baby!)
Show threadDiligence JonesJun 3, 2023

@ouinne Every morning I slip treats into the mouth of a pit bull whose jaws can easily chomp off a finger. I can feel him restraining himself when he nibbles at a treat in my hand.

They love their people.

Show threadouinneJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina yes! It’s very funny because Chloe will draw back her lips like a timber wolf to take a treat but not even her whiskers touch my skin. Although Viola her sister gets her treats tossed to her, because Vivi gets too excited to remember my fingers aren’t treatos. 😂
Show threadstevenrayJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina yes, we sure do. ❤️
Show threadTravisJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina and dogs love is so much too. I strive to love like a dog.
Show threadDiligence JonesJun 3, 2023

@tebrown yeah i'm an abject failure at that.

i do not love unconditionally so much. sadly.

but Benson is teaching me how.

Show threadDon MeltonJun 3, 2023

@DeliaChristina This. 💯

And, BTW, what a cutie! 🥰

Show threadCeliaJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina he is gorgeous. I just lost my beautiful Daisy after 15 years. They bring so much to us. ♥️
Show threadBeefGrillerJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina Our four-legged family members never judge us, never withhold love and affection, and always give us all that they believe we want from them. Treat them right, and they always reciprocate. And though we may feel we fall short, they never hold that against us.
Show threadsecretslothJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina so, so true. Even if they have iffy tummies or allergies, and in spite of their tendency to want to actually murder the mailman 😅 ah, dogs. 💜
Show threadDiligence JonesJun 3, 2023

@secretsloth

If the mailman wasn't so sus in the first place, though.
Where did all the mail come from? Why does he show up every day? He was just here! This is clearly nefarious behavior.

Dogs are just asking the questions no one else bothers to ask.

Show threadsecretslothJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina we really did have a sus mail lady when we were living at my parents' place 🤣 she totally deserved it the time a neighbor's dog bit her. HA nobody was sorry.
Show threadGene Cowan 🏳️‍🌈Jun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina @jann Meanwhile, here’s my 79 year old dad I’ve been sitting in the hospital with recently. 🤣
Show threadDiligence JonesJun 3, 2023
@genecowan
I hope your dad gets to go home soon - and that he gets to sit in his favorite chair without a certain someone taking up all the space!
Show threadGene Cowan 🏳️‍🌈Jun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina thankfully, he did just get home. Bella was extremely happy to share his chair again.
Show threadflopperdogJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina Today I got to see a blue pittie puppy and it made me think of Benson, which in turn made me think of this
Show threadDiligence JonesJun 3, 2023

@flopperdog haha! I think all the folks who follow #BensonUpdate are also in long distance relationships with him.

I was just thinking today that I wanted to sit somewhere and have blue nose pittie puppies scamper all over me for an hour or so. I want to snuggle a puppy!!

Show threadSearingTruthJun 3, 2023

@DeliaChristina

We call other sentient species animals fellow citizen Delia Christina.

When they are, at least, our children.
ST

"We found the key to truth.

A child’s eyes."
SearingTruth

Show threadSmytheJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina It’s all because of the boopable noses…
Show thread(((Cindy Weinstein)))Jun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina. Your #DogOfMastodon is beautiful.
Show threadDion JonesJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina A dog will never let you down and they are a better judge of character than we are. If your dog doesn't like someone there is a reason.
Show threadTanya HarrisonJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina @abejaclaustro Dogs take us into their hearts as well, love without strings attached.
Show threadFreedmanJun 3, 2023

@DeliaChristina

Luna says "hi, will you keep loving me?"

How could I say no to her?

Show threadBram MeehanJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina @amyfou Probably not what you want to think about now, but ran across this and then a buddy lost his dog of 17 years; it’s not an easy read, but there’s a lot in here around what you're getting at: https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/essays-culture/pet-loss-dog-grief/
How to Grieve for a Very Good Dog

When my yellow Lab died last spring, I was flattened by an overwhelming sadness that’s with me still. And that’s normal, experts say, because losing a pet is often one of the hardest yet least acknowledged traumas we’ll ever face.

Outside Online
Show threadLiemPong_pagongJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina it seems like we were the ones who were domesticated.
Show thread@stevewfoldsJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina Everything is covered here for the dogs.
Show threadLinzaJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina it would help if humans had soft ears and didn’t judge you.
Show threadDiligence JonesJun 3, 2023
@Linza
And boopable noses.
Show threadLinzaJun 5, 2023
@DeliaChristina if I could boop someone without getting punched or fired or asked to leave the library, I would
Show thread@stevewfoldsJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina
Show threadDiligence JonesJun 3, 2023
@stevewfolds pure joy!
Show threadserklarvelJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina because they're better tbah us ❤️
Show threadCondalmo.Jun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina Fartacus 😂
Show threadCondalmo.Jun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina Benson should have a page on Pixelfed!
Show threadBeBoJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina How could you do otherwise?
Show threadAnnietimeJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina truth. It’s so pure the devotion of a dog. A bundle of wiggling, sloppy, tail wagging love. Running down the walkway mad with joy to greet you when you come home from work. We take their love and pour it right back into those trusting eyes.
Show threadphi1997Jun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina
Extraordinarily outstanding boy. Goodest fella. Very scritchable. 10/10
Show threadMichael PorterJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina Fartacus 😄😂🥰
Show threadDiligence JonesJun 3, 2023
@MichaelPorter so much farting.
Show threadlirosoJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina
That's beautifully put. Scmoopie Face is lucky to have you.
Show threadAviva GaryJun 3, 2023
@DeliaChristina so cute