And, indeed, that's the way it worked out. Jasper was a lot of work, but irresistibly cute, and soon he became an indispensable part of our family. That was nearly nine years ago. Jasper is still with me, while the wife has moved on - adding credence to the notion that dogs are loyal to the end.

Dogs in Maine, by and large, enjoy many of the same benefits the people in Maine enjoy. Open spaces and rural living mean that a romp in the woods is never too far away. The ocean and the state's many lakes mean that a warm summer day can easily be tempered with a plunge in the water (as well as a cold winter day - dogs don't seem to notice the difference). And although many towns have leash laws, they aren't anal about enforcing them - as long as you keep your dog under control, whether or not there is a leash involved doesn't really matter. The way I figure, if you've taken the time to train your dog to behave, he or she should have the benefit of a little extra freedom.

Jasper has particularly benefited from his good nature and tendency to stick around even when unsupervised. As I've mentioned before, there are a few businesses around town that embrace dogs, allowing them to come inside and make themselves at home. When this is not the case, he usually plants himself outside, strategically placed in front of the door. Although this does not usually present a problem, there was the time that a restaurant owner came to our table and complained that Jasper was preventing customers from entering the restaurant. We reluctantly made him move. He much prefers the restaurant in Searsport that let him sit under the table while we ate.

Jasper has also been the beneficiary of employers with liberal policies concerning pets in the office. I work at home a lot, but when I do go into the office, Jasper nearly always accompanies me. In fact, if I dare to leave it home, I hear about it loud and clear from the people at work. I think if they had it their way, Jasper would drive to work and leave me at home.

Although it would appear that a dog's life consists solely of eating, sleeping, and playing, they somehow manage to find innumerable ways to enrich their owner's lives as well. If I were somehow able to calculate the number of miles that I have spent walking Jasper over the past 9 years, I wouldn't be surprised if the total approached 10,000 miles. That's quite a bit of exercise, and I'd like to think it is adding years to my life.

Then there's the social aspect of dog ownership. When you walk you dog, you meet other people who are walking their dogs. The dogs sniff each other, you exchange a few words, and you carry on until you meet up with the next dog. This happens day after day, and before long, your get to learn everyone's name. The dog's names, that is - I can seldom remember the people's names. The dogs are the ties that bind, and without them, we'd know a lot fewer of our neighbors.

Lucky dogs have good owners, and it's no coincidence that good owners have good dogs. Unfortunately, all dogs aren't that lucky. In Maine, as just about anywhere, too many people get dogs for the wrong reasons. Puppies are cute, but few people realize the work and responsibility in owning one. I can't count the number of dogs I've seen go from being cute puppies to unmanageable adults because their owner's concept of "training" consisted of sticking them out on a chain and throwing a few bowls of food at them a couple of times a day. Some spend their lives on the end of that chain, never knowing what it's like to be included in a family. More often, once the cute is gone and the unchecked bad habits take over, the dog is sent away to a shelter or pound. And from there, few find their way to loving homes. There should be some sort of test to qualify potential dog owners before they let them have a dog in the first place.

On the flip side, I know many dog owners that could qualify for sainthood in their dog's eyes. For the most part, these people aren't unreasonably obsessive about their dogs - they don't consider them "humans" and treat them as such. They do, however, treat them like an integral part of the family, giving them the love and attention they deserve. These are the dogs you see sitting in the passenger seats of pickups, or the back seats of vans and station wagons, with their heads sticking out the windows, ears flapping in the wind. These are the dogs you see being walked every day. These are the dogs that are leading the way on the hiking trails and retrieving sticks from the icy Atlantic. These are the dogs that are curled up next to the woodstove or fireplace, or at the foot of the bed. These are the dogs that invariably find their way onto the family Christmas card every year.

It is most unfortunate, and, indeed, unfair, that dogs don't enjoy the same lifespans as humans do. It hurts to watch them get old before your eyes, exhibiting all the symptoms of old age by the time they reach about 10 years of age. In those same 10 years, a lot has changed in our lives, but the vestiges of age creep up on us slowly in comparison. And, inevitably, the day comes when you have to say goodbye to the companion that you hoped would be around forever. Recently, two friends of mine had to say goodbye to their canine companions. Kasha and Bailey were chocolate labs - mother and son, in fact - that got to spend most of their lives in Maine, enjoying the woods, and the water, and their "people." And although it's sad to see them gone, their owners can take comfort in the fact that they had the best possible life a dog could have. And that's the way it should be.

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Copyright ©1999 by Greg Closter (closter@acadia.net)