There’s something about dogs, isn’t there?
They don’t care if you’ve had a bad day, if your hair’s a mess, if you’ve failed at something, or if the world feels heavy on your shoulders. They just look at you with those eyes as if to say, “Come on then… let’s keep walking.”
The other morning I was out with Bixie and Bumble, early mist hanging over the fields, birds waking up, the world still half asleep. Bumble suddenly stopped and looked back at me with a tennis ball in his mouth like life was the greatest adventure ever invented.
That’s when I started thinking about Alan Watts.
Now Alan Watts had this beautiful way of looking at life. He talked a lot about humans becoming trapped inside their own minds. Overthinking. Worrying. Chasing tomorrow while forgetting today. Sound familiar? It does to me sometimes.
And then along comes a dog.
A dog doesn’t care about your five-year plan.
A dog isn’t worrying about what someone said three Tuesdays ago.
A dog isn’t lying awake thinking about taxes, politics, social media comments or whether they’re successful enough.
Dogs live now.
And I honestly wonder sometimes if God gave us dogs partly to remind us how to live again.
Not in a lazy way. Not in a careless way. But in a present way.
Jesus Himself said: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” — Matthew 6:34
Dogs are masters of that scripture without ever reading a Bible.
They wake up excited for the day.
Excited for a walk.
Excited for breakfast.
Excited just because you came back from the toilet after thirty seconds.
What a way to live.
Alan Watts often spoke about how people are constantly trying to arrive somewhere mentally instead of experiencing the moment they’re already in. And honestly, when I walk dogs for a living, I see the opposite in them every day.
A dog fully experiences life.
The smell of wet grass.
The sound of pheasants crashing out the hedge.
The feeling of wind through their ears.
The joy of splashing through muddy puddles without caring who’s watching.
Meanwhile we humans can walk through a beautiful woodland while staring at our phones worrying about emails.
Dogs pull us back into creation.
And I don’t think that’s accidental.
Psalm 104 talks about God filling the earth with living creatures and how creation reflects His wisdom. Even Jesus pointed to birds, sheep and animals constantly while teaching people deeper truths.
Creation teaches us, Dogs especially.
Because if we’re honest, many of us struggle with unconditional love. We keep score. We remember hurts. We put walls up.
Dogs don’t.
You can leave the house for ten minutes and return like you’ve just come back from war.
Tail wagging.
Whole body wiggling.
Pure joy.
That sort of love softens people.
I’ve seen hardened men kneel down and talk baby talk to Labradors. I’ve seen lonely elderly people light up because a spaniel rested its head on their lap. I’ve seen anxious people calm down simply by stroking a dog quietly beside a river.
There’s healing in it.
Proverbs 12:10 says:
“The righteous care for the needs of their animals.”
And maybe one reason we’re meant to care for animals… is because they end up caring for us too.
Not through words.
Not through sermons.
But through presence.
Faithfulness.
Companionship.
Joy.
Alan Watts said people often think life is a journey with a destination, but really it’s more like music — something you’re meant to experience while it’s playing.
And dogs understand that perfectly.
They dance through life.
They don’t need possessions to be happy. Half the time Bumble’s favourite thing in the world is an old muddy tennis ball that should’ve been thrown away months ago.
There’s a lesson in that too.
Maybe we complicate life too much.
Maybe God knew humans would become stressed, disconnected and trapped inside their own heads… so He created these furry little creatures to pull us outside again.
Back to fields.
Back to rivers.
Back to laughter.
Back to simple joy.
Back to companionship.
Back to now.
And perhaps, in a strange way, dogs quietly teach us something about God Himself.
Faithfulness.
Grace.
Forgiveness.
Joy in relationship.
Not because dogs are divine.
But because all good things point back to the Creator.
So next time your dog runs full speed through a field with ears flapping like a lunatic… maybe stop for a second and watch carefully.
Because you might just be looking at one of God’s reminders that life was never meant to be carried entirely on our shoulders.
Sometimes it’s meant to be walked through… one joyful muddy pawprint at a time.
