With apologies to anyone who is more a cat person than a dog person, no conversation about loyalty would be complete without discussing dogs. Here’s one of my favorite quotes:
There is no faith which has never yet been broken, except that of a truly faithful dog. ~ Konrad Lorenz
I’ve had the joy of having dogs most of my life, and I’ve fallen deeply in love with each of them without exception. Loyalty sometimes feels like having that sweet animal follow you around the house, waiting for you, cuddling next to you and relentlessly begging to play ball or pretend that 85 pounds can be a lap dog.
Are the qualities which make up loyalty in a dog the same as they are in people? Are dog lovers confusing loyalty with the dependence of dogs on us for their survival? What are the core qualities in what we read as loyalty in dogs that we’d like to have in our human relationships?