Love letters are known to come from human beings who know exactly what love is all about.
As human beings making friends is art of our lives, but what about befriending a dog? The thought of it may send bad signals, but human beings of today would want us to take a second thought over it.
It was a fine day but not on a Valentine Day when I received a letter from someone wanting to be included as one of my friends on Facebook.
There is nothing bad about having friends on that social network, after all we're all there for the sake of friendship.
The request was actually a welcome one but when I turned to his homepage for some information about him, I was shocked to see a salivating dog.
I quickly backed out, only to see a letter on my down-line urging me to rescind my decision.
I reluctantly replied him demanding to know why I should befriend a dog and not a human being.
The answer he gave shocked me further.
He insinuated that even though almost every household owns a dog, yet those dogs are stubbornly denied their rights.
Before I could ask myself what rights a common dog should have in this material world, the writer, who claimed to be a dog, told me that dogs need companionship the way human beings do.
That their purpose in people's homes should not only be for their engagements in providing assistance to those with special needs, security and hunting, but for companionship.
To be frank, I used to have dogs in my house.
I love keeping them around, but I hate their bad habits.
It is annoying when dogs dig holes in my yard, ruin my glass doors or consume a chunk of the family's income.
According to my friend to be, dogs like him are "members of the family" and therefore should be loved and cared for.
He also said that we should always overlook their shortcomings since dogs are known to show us love when others don't; that they welcome us home without asking why we are late; that they more forgiving than human beings; and that they enjoy being close to us even when we are not feeling good about ourselves.
He finally said that dogs do not care what we look like, and therefore should remain our only known best friends.
All my life, I have never seen where it is said that dogs understand human beings to the point of telling why they act the way they do.
I only know that they can sense our impatience, neglect, and absence.
They may also sense our emotions but can never know the difference if we said cruel things to them with a nice voice.
The only true and trusted friend I can ever have in life, apart from God, should be my wife.
With her, I can close my two eyes and have a sound sleep till the next day.
I have not seen what will truly make me befriend a dog as I can do to a human being.
Any friend who does not see more than my physical flaws and limitations is no friend at all.
Dogs do not qualify here.
They can only help to relieve loneliness, help in saving their owners' lives to an extent, or die while trying to protect their masters, yet all these only reflect more instinct than character.
Dogs can never meet our deepest needs as human beings do.
I still remember one of the dogs that I owned.
The name was "Bush".
I still remember its penchant for plays.
That lingering affection is the only thing a faithful and loyal dog could get from its owner - only a memory! There is a huge difference in human friends.
God created them to give us a deep and lasting taste of His goodness and power which promises us complete health and happiness in the future.
The Lord Jesus Christ is a Friend to all Christians because He does not only have the ability to heal our mental, emotional, and physical problems, but will one day return and use eternity itself to show us the extent of what He can do for us (Revelation 21:4).
Are you in love with a DOG or with GOD?