“Whoever said diamonds are a girl’s best friend obviously never owned a dog.” -Unknown

Like many people, I had heard the “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” along with this version many times. Growing up in a dog-less household, I identified more with the diamonds than the dogs. Then when I moved in with my fiancé and his dog, I realized just how true this second version is. Dogs are truly man (and woman)’s best friend and diamonds will never stand a chance.

Before I had a dog (my first dog being the portion of ownership I claim on my fiancé’s dog) I thought they were all the same. Obviously, I had friends who had family dogs, and they were all well and good, but it is such a different relationship having a dog that is just a family dog, versus having a dog that is your own. I saw this relationship clearly when I say the way my fiancé interacts with his dog, Oso. He and Oso are, without a doubt, best friends. They do everything together; hike mountains, go on runs and road trips. He has even brought Oso to work with him on occasion. Oso and him have a bond that is so different than the relationships I had seen between any of my friend’s and their family dogs. I think the main reason for this is that my fiancé didn’t get his dog until he was in his twenties, meaning he knew a time without a dog in his life. He went searching for a dog and he and Oso chose each other in every sense of the word. He and Oso have been together though all the ups and downs of your twenties, moving from different houses with different people and even moving to different states. Throughout all these changes, they have been the single constant in each other’s lives. That kind of movement and those shared experiences create a bond and a love that goes far beyond that of a family who grew up with a dog in the house and shared responsibility of it.

I got the fortune of sharing in this unique relationship when we moved into our first apartment together. Right after we moved my fiancé had to go out of town for work for a few days and not only was it my first time spending the night in our new place, but it was the first time I had been alone with Oso for several days in a row. The first night was not easy for me. Our mattress was still on the floor, all of our things were in boxes, and I was still learning my way around the new city. I was scared to be by myself. There is no doubt in my mind that Oso picked up on this because the entire time I was home alone, he did not leave my side. He slept on the floor next to me all night, when I would stand up or move around the house he would follow me and every time he heard one of our neighbors walking past our door, he would go into full alert and listen. For those couple days that it was just our dog and me, I felt immeasurably safer knowing he was there. Just feeling presence of another being in the house and watching the way he acted differently without my fiancé was more comforting that I could have ever imagined.

We have since gotten a second dog, Maverick, and I have gotten to see how these special relationships form and it has been such an absolute pleasure watching them interact and seeing how different each of our relationships are with each of our dogs. For example, Oso is a black lab mix who loves to run and is loyal to a fault. He is my running/adventuring buddy, but he will always be my fiancé’s dog first and foremost. He is always ready to go running with me, but he won’t eat his food until his dad gets home. He loves me, but he is my fiancé’s dog. Maverick, our hound dog/ pit bull mix, is loyal to whoever has food at the time. It has been such a pleasure getting to know our dogs’ different personalities and getting to see the different relationships they form with us and each other. One thing I can say for sure is that I have never felt safer than I do living with our giant dogs. They have become such an essential part of our little family and they bring so much joy to our lives. My dogs are my best friends and I would trade diamonds for dogs any day.