There are so many good reasons to get a dog. But I’ve never seen one of my favorite reasons on any list: Dogs are so freaking beautiful!
Even if Honey wasn’t good company, an excuse to exercise, and a fascinating soul, she’s still quite a beauty.
Strangers compliment her looks every day. Children petting her exclaim, “She’s so soft!” And I just love to sit and look at her.
I chose my home for its beauty. I fill it with art. I admire the trees and plants that surround it.
Why wouldn’t I want to surround myself with living beauty?
Your Turn: Is beauty (or cuteness) a worthwhile reason to have a dog? How much did it influence your decision to get a dog?
Funny, when I saw your blog post ‘tease’ on FB this was what immediately sprang to my mind 🙂 Not that everyone thinks Greyhounds are beautiful! They can be an acquired taste. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I think the most beautiful thing with dogs is their eyes. I love Frankie’s golden eyes, Beryl’s brown eyes and Asher’s tiger eyes. I also love to look at them all when they are asleep. If you love something it becomes beautiful.
“If you love something it becomes beautiful.” Well put.
And, like the song says, to know him is to love him. I used to think German shepherds and shepherd mixes were the most beautiful dogs. But the more friends I make in blogville, the more beautiful dogs I see. I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the beauty of terriers, pig dogs, and yes, greyhounds. 🙂
Mom has to get a dog she likes the looks of, so it does influence her decision.
When I started out with dogs, shepherd mixes were definitely my favorite. But the longer I go on, the more I discover that every dog is beautiful.
I don’t think it would matter what Honey really looked like. She’s become beautiful to me because I love her. 🙂
Honey is definitely gorgeous, there is no disputing that! I don’t know if Shiva’s appearance is what made me decide to get a dog but the cute factor definitely came into play when I went to the shelter. I love dogs for many reasons, one of those reasons being that I find them too adorable to resist! I don’t see anything wrong with that.
“too adorable to resist…” Yep, that’s the perfect phrase.
As a matter of fact, it’s the one that keeps coming to mind when I read the descriptions of adoptable dogs at our shelter. 🙂
Gizmo was truly ugly when i adopted him…Hairless & bug-eye, he was a real mess…you know how they say “so ugly he’s cute” Well that was the Giz…These days i do think he’s cute and i get that comment from folks everywhere we go…is that the reason i have him? no, but i do get great pleasure just watching him…to me he is a thing of beauty
I didn’t start out seeing the appeal in wiry haired terriers. But after “meeting” Edie J’s Frankie, your Gizmo, and several other stout-hearted terriers, I’ve fallen hard.
OMD, I can’t imagine Gizmo ever looking ugly under any circumstances. 🙂
I guess I don’t really like to hype on beauty or cuteness that much… since people have been known to buy a puppy because it’s cute and then discard it later. But with common-place looking dogs like our adopted mongrel, I do like to associate them with words like beauty and cute and hopefully more people will consider adopting them from the overcrowded shelters ^ ^ rather than the beautiful pure breeds that most people go for.
I’ve long favored shepherd mixes. Years ago, I couldn’t imagine ever adopting any other kind of dog.
And, until I adopted Honey, I didn’t think much of golden retrievers. They looked so “vanilla” and uninteresting–just like every other golden retriever.
Now, I recognize her beauty. And most of it has nothing to do with her looks and everything to do with the great job she does helping foster dogs feel comfortable in our home so they can find their own forever home. 🙂
Hah! Golden retrievers are hardly vanilla and uninteresting! They very popular over here and their curly coats do look pretty ^ ^ Honey has a great smile 🙂
I’m all about personality, because beauty can be deceiving. So I focus on a breed (or breed mix) when I’m selecting the best dog for our family. Blue was my best choice yet! We’re all Shepherd here.
Before Honey, every dog in my life was a shepherd mix. I couldn’t imagine any other dog in my home. But the more time I spend with dogs, especially fostering, the more I see every dog as beautiful.
I can’t imagine my home looking half so nice if it didn’t have dogs. Even with dog hair tumbleweeds and nose prints on the doors. 🙂
Honey is incredibly beautiful.
I find that each of my dogs becomes more beautiful to me with time. As my love for them grows, so does my perception of their beauty.
Honey thanks you for the compliment.
I find that EVERY dog becomes more beautiful to me with time. While getting caught up on season two of Downton Abbey, I couldn’t look away from the opening shot during the credits of Isis the dog swinging her tail. 🙂
I have to admit that beauty was not even remotely one of the reasons I got a dog. Though, with Cookie, cuteness did have something to do with that particular choice of getting her. On the other hand, what makes her so cute is the sweetness inside … so the question is, how much of the actual looks and how much of the personality I appreciated with her. But let’s not complicate things too much.
That said, I agree that dogs are beautiful. Well, most of them, anyway. I so much appreciate their natural beauty that I don’t even like putting light color collars/harnesses on them. I don’t want anything to interfere with their natural looks. (If you’re guessing that is also a NO to dress-up, you’re correct. The only time I’ve put anything on my dog(s) was for practical purposes only)
I’ll join you in the “No to dress-up” club. To me, dogs are so much more beautiful as dogs then they are as hotdogs or princesses. 🙂
I also love seeing dogs “naked” without harnesses and collars. If only we didn’t have to worry about them wearing I.D.
Yeah, I hear you. At home, our guys are naked 🙂
I didn’t pick out any of my three dogs. Scout was brought home by my husband because he was being mistreated by his humans, Teddy was found in a field when he was a puppy by my son and Ash was also brought home to us by our son. I love all three of them and I think they are beautiful! I guess that is all that matters!
And I’d guess each of them becomes more beautiful each day, right? 🙂
You’re asking the girl who has Greyhounds? Yes, I definitely love having them around because they’re beautiful and cute!
Greyhounds are definitely beautiful. But you talk much more about they’re personalities and characters.
Do you ever try to separate their physical beauty from their inner beauty and ask which you like more?
I think part of the beauty, as with all of us, is what’s inside. Personally I have never liked French bulldogs (do not tell my friend who has one) even seeing this dog as a puppy I just never really got it, but then I went to France and came across a black and white one that spent all day woogling on it’s back – I fell in love with it then and there!!
What a timely post…last night I caught myself staring, and I mean STARING, at Hannah, my golden retriever. I just couldn’t believe how beautiful she was. Her big brown eyes, her baleful gaze. I don’t even know if she is ‘objectively’ that beautiful, but to me, she’s gorgeous (especially when she is napping and not running around causing mischief as she is doing now).