Dogs are well loved in Holland, maybe even as much as bikes. They are welcome most everywhere and usually quite well behaved.

Today I took Christian to get his hair cut after school to a new barber, since the one I normally take him to was overbooked and we couldn’t wait. When we walked into the barber shop that Bob recommended, this friendly dog greeted us in a gentle way. I actually didn’t mind him at all because he wasn’t overly aggressive getting to know his “new customers.” I am not a dog lover, yet I’m trying to be more tolerant as my husband and daughter keep bringing up the idea of adding one to our family. I even overlooked his wet nose rubbing on my bare leg, which I noticed but didn’t jump in disgust. Could I actually like dogs? Jury is still out…

When I snapped the above picture of Charlie sitting in the old fashioned barber chair in the window, I didn’t even notice the dog sitting near him until I looked at my photos from the day. How cute is he? When Juliana got up from the couch I was sitting on, the dog came up and curled up next to me on the opposite corner. Again, I noticed but wasn’t bothered when I typically don’t like dogs acting like humans. I know, this is one of my “special” quirks, that I’m trying to lose. I’m writing a post about dogs, which is really weird for me… I wonder what this means…Juliana, don’t get your hopes up just yet.

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Jen brought her dog over the other day when she came to pick up a bike. Both Jeff and I were admiring the dog’s coloring, her fur and her size. She was a miniature, golden doodle and definitely caught our attention. She had a great demeanor, was happy and friendly and obeyed nicely. I caught myself thinking… If we ever get a dog, maybe a golden doodle could be an option. What is this crazy thinking??

And my last dog connection came from Rob and Wendy. They brought their beautiful Dutch shepherds with us to Keukenhof. They were well behaved and brought love to so many people that stopped to take pictures of the dogs. I was fascinated by this. Like they say, babies and dogs are a good way to make friends. Rob was making friends at every bench he stopped at. One couple even invited him to contact them when he goes to China next year, saying its nice to have a friend in the local country and they exchanged numbers. How cool is that?? The other cool thing that Rob did was to help Christian overcome his fear of dogs. Christian was bit (nipped) in the face when he was a young boy and has been tense around dogs ever since. Rob joked with and played with Christian and made him feel comfortable around his dogs. He taught him how to hold the leash, give commands, and to walk and actually enjoy the dogs. Christian followed Rob’s lead and walked them around the gardens all day and loved it. I was very proud of him overcoming his fear and enjoying the outcome. He really liked the dogs and I’m thankful that Rob gave him the opportunity to get to know and like dogs again, and to feel safe. I also admired how much Rob and Wendy loved their four legged babies.

I actually learned a new perspective about dogs this week. Who would have thought it could be possible? Maybe this old dog might be able to learn new tricks after all.

Namaste.