I also know Toby would trade me in for any person carrying food. Maybe if they weren’t carrying food too. But I love him all the same.

As you can see from what I said to Edie, I DO believe that our dogs love us unconditionally. But it’s up to us humans to understand their definition of love rather than trying to make them act out our own definition of it. Like you said, some people just need to stop taking their dogs personally. And, yes, sometimes I’m guilty of doing just that — like at 4:30 in the morning when I suddenly find my 75-pound Golden Retriever climbing over my head because of a stupid, little thing like thunder or lightning. What the heck do I know of patience at that hour, especially after only 3 hours of sleep?! LOL.
Poor Callie, all she wants to do is hide from the noise of the storm and “Mommy” gets all bent out of shape. Yet when the storm is over, and we’re both back to normal, she still gives me a slobbery kiss if I ask for one. She has already forgotten about the storm and Mommy being a butthead. And Mommy goes on berating herself for hours on end.

Sounds like my house, my hubby, my dogs, and me! But Ducky greets her Daddy with growls and barks. Now that we’re used to it, it’s funny but for a while there it was annoying.

Hi Edie! I hope you don’t mind if I correct your last sentence somewhat…It’s not the “myth” of unconditional love that gets dogs returned to shelters. It’s the HUMAN DEFINITION of said unconditional love. Dogs DO love us unconditionally, but on their own terms; and on terms that some humans can’t — or choose not to — understand. It took me some time to realize that Callie had stopped greeting me with her usual exuberance not because she “didn’t love me any more”; but because as she got older, it was a little more difficult for her to get up or because she was in such a deep sleep that she hadn’t heard me come in the house.