Why Men Need a Dog

English Standard Version (ESV)

24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!

    In wisdom have you made them all;

    the earth is full of your creatures.

25 Here is the sea, great and wide,

    which teems with creatures innumerable,

    living things both small and great.

Proverbs 12:10

English Standard Version (ESV)

10 Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast,

    but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.

Colossians 3:12

English Standard Version (ESV)

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

“Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” 
― Mark Twain
I enjoyed watching my husband today play with his dog in a gentle rain.  The creature needed a break from a long car ride.  Maybe they both did.  I'm always of the opinion that a man needs a dog.  My husband, however, didn't know he needed a dog until I found one for him.  For my son and his dog, it was love at first sight.  Sometimes I think they raised each other.  Right now the dogs are home with me while their masters are out helping a friend in need.  It may take a while because the friend, who lives alone, is in terrible pain after a spill on his bike left him with a shattered arm.  It's late but I know they won't be home until he is more comfortably settled.    It further proves to me that you can tell much about a man by the way he treats his dog.