A Cello and an Oboe

Ah, my favorite part... this is where I get to introduce you to my boys, Cello and Oboe. I never grew up with dogs around, but suddenly one day in 2002 I decided I wanted to get a dog... why the hell not. So I walked into a fish store and instantly fell in love with this little two-month-old Akita/Collie/Shepherd mix. I bought him that moment and drove home while he sat in my lap. Never did I know that he would grow into a mammoth beast of 120 pounds. I called him Cello. But I was at work ten hours a day, and Cello needed a friend, so we checked out several places until we finally found a baby Golden Retriever at a dog farm. We called him Oboe. And from that day on, these boys became my best friends.

Dogs are such a commitment. I sympathize with single parents because I know what it's all about. You have to be home at certan times, you restrict your freedoms, you have to vacume every single day and constantly clean everywhere...

But it's worth it. Dogs remind you to enjoy the simple pleasures in life like a walk or hike up the canyon. You see them wag their tail and you forget about those stressful things in your life... you know... work, work, and work. You also change your perception of material things. Dogs do the funniest things, especially when they immitate human behavior and surprise you with certain intelligence they exhibit. People could also learn a thing or two about loyalty from dogs.

Maybe it's my paternal instinct at work. Some of you may understand this, but probably most Jordanians won't. Maybe it's just an American thing in me that most Arabs don't really understand, but truly I believe dogs are one of God's sincerest gifts to man. Dog owners know it. Wouldn't you say?

One final note: the latest genetic research has found that humans and dogs share 85% of the same genetic make-up.