In the wide, wide world of pets, there are fish people, ferret people, cat people, reptile people, bird people. Some individuals prefer hamsters;
others lean toward llamas.
But none are as fiercely loyal as dog people. In return, no doubt, for the never-ending loyalty of dogs.
Cat owners might give their pets the occasional can of tuna, but would they whip up homemade cat food? Would llama owners buy raincoats and rain boots for their pets? Would hamster owners take their pets for joy rides in the car?
OK, so cats currently outnumber dogs in this country-54.6 million cats to 52.4 million dogs.
But let`s face it, cats` popularity is due in part to their low-maintenance nature. Humans are needed primarily to put out the food and the litter box and, for all intents and purposes, get lost. By nature independent animals, cats don`t really require human presence.
But dogs crave time and attention, and respond with unconditional love. For dog lovers, the relationship between owner and pet is one that frequently takes on a human dimension.
To find out more about those intimate relationships, we asked a few dog lovers to tell us why their dogs ignite such a passion in them.
`Little people`
”We don`t call them dogs,” said Eleanor Hamilton, a private investigator and proud parent of three dachshunds. ”We call them little people.”
Hamilton knows this sounds crazy. But she and her husband, Bob, City Attorney for Orlando, Fla., are bonkers about their babies.
Their three little people-Chief, Sheriff and 15-month-old Justice-rule the roost.
Their birthdays are marked on the kitchen calendar and are celebrated with cupcakes. They get to jump on the furniture, roam the house and bark ceaselessly at the squirrels in the yard. Visitors to the Hamilton home are struck by the larger-than-life portrait of the dogs prominently placed in the family room.
And no ordinary dog bed will do for these pooches-they sleep under the covers with the Hamiltons in the couple`s king-size bed. (The Hamiltons bought the bed a year ago. Their queen-size wasn`t big enough to handle the menagerie.)
”Our kids used to tease us and say that the vet bills around this house were always higher than the pediatrician bills,” Eleanor recalled. ”If one of them had the sniffles, we`d say, `Oh, it`s just a cold.` But if the dogs got sick, we`d take them to the vet immediately.
”I`ve heard that people who have dogs live longer,” Eleanor said. ”I truly believe that. They give you someone to love, and they return that love.”
Dog instead of kids
Maria Zelones and her husband, Paul, don`t have any children. Instead, Maria heaps her affection on Dolita, a mixed terrier-hound she got from the Humane Society nine years ago shortly after their previous dog, Dolly, died.
”Everybody thinks I`m a little nuts,” said Zelones, who has bought dozens of toys for Dolita and admits to babying her. Zelones` family and friends have gotten caught up in the spirit. They send Dolita Christmas cards and even an occasional party invitation.
Indeed, Dolita is no ordinary dog. She doesn`t wear a regular dog collar. Won`t tolerate one. She has no use for a leash either. Instead, she wears a white crocheted collar, one that looks like a lace collar for a doll.
In addition, Dolita has several of her own coats and sweaters, as well as her own baby blanket. Every night, Zelones tucks Dolita in her dog bed and covers her with the blanket. ”She won`t go to sleep without it,” she said.
When a cleaning lady said she couldn`t work with the dog in the house, Zelones took that as notice she was leaving.
Now in the process of building a new house, the Zeloneses note they designed it with Dolita in mind.
”We`re kind of building the house around her,” said Paul Zelones, an architect. ”We`re planning two back porches, one for us and one for my mother-in-law, who will have her own wing. So we`re going to have a fenced-in dog pen between the two porches so Dolita can go from one porch to the other.”
Not everyone understands the depth of the Zeloneses` affection for Dolita. One well-meaning friend once told the couple that Dolita was nice
”but she`s an ugly dog.”
”That hurt us deeply,” said Maria. ”I mean, we carry her picture in our wallets. We have a portrait of the three of us-Mommy, Daddy and Dolita.” Feelings change
Many dog lovers grew up around dogs, but John O`Loughlin, a 32-year-old television producer, was never close to his parents` poodles. Dogs didn`t matter to him much.
That is, until his freshman year at Bemidji State University in northern Minnesota. For his birthday, some of O`Loughlin`s friends bought him a mixed Labrador retriever.
Suddenly, this college kid had a dog. Little did he know that he was getting a best friend.
In the past 12 years, O`Loughlin and Shannon have gone through college, moved to California, back to Minnesota, to Chicago, to Tallahassee and then to Orlando. Shannon has been with him through strings of friends and girlfriends. She has seen him become a husband and, 10 months ago, a father.
”As a freshman in college, I don`t think I knew what a lifetime responsibility or what a lifetime friend a dog would be,” O`Loughlin said.
Marrying a person who is devoted to his dog could spell problems. But O`Loughlin thinks his wife, Kelly, has handled it superbly.
Now, as he watches his former Frisbee-catching champ go gray in the muzzle and lose her teeth, O`Loughlin watches with love and regret. ”She has been a great dog.”
The why of it
Janet Schnellmann understands dog lovers. She has been one for most of her 39 years.
”There`s just something about dogs that makes you feel good. You come home, they`re thrilled to see you. They`re good for the ego.”
Schnellmann already owned a dog, a yellow Labrador named Sandy, when Tucker came into her life four years ago. Usually it`s the person who picks the dog, but not this time. Schnellmann and her husband regularly ran into Tucker on walks near their Siesta Key, Fla., home. Tucker`s house was on their route, and he started following them home.
He kept it up for three months, sometimes just showing up at their doorstep. In the course of returning Tucker, Schnellmann learned that Tucker`s owners had a baby and no time for a year-old retriever. She offered to adopt her newfound friend, and Tucker was hers.
”He fit in right away,” said Schnellmann, who now lives with her husband and two dogs. ”He`s a good, happy dog and he`s easy to get along with. It was like he belonged here.”
