In these past days, I have been thinking a lot about what my dog, Kari, taught me. When someone you love is no longer here, your mind tries to hold on to every little detail — every look, every gesture, every moment. But then, beneath the memories, there is something even stronger: there are lessons. These are not lessons learned from books. These are lessons learned from love. And dogs, more than anyone else in this world, are teachers of love.

Dogs are the most beautiful example of unconditional love we will ever meet. They don’t calculate their affection. They don’t hold back. They don’t hide their joy or their devotion. They love you fully. Completely. With their whole heart. Without conditions.

And that is the first lesson: love is not complicated.

Humans make love so difficult sometimes. We analyze it. We expect something from it. We measure who gives more, who gives less, who deserves it, who doesn’t. We use words to explain it, or sometimes we use silence to punish. We carry pride, we build walls, we fear being vulnerable.

Dogs don’t know these things.

Dogs give love as if love is the only language they speak — because for them, it is.

They love you when you look your best, but also when you don’t.
They love you when you’re strong, but also when you break.
They love you when you’re confident, but also when you are lost.

Their love is constant. It doesn’t depend on your mood, on your achievements, on your mistakes. Dogs don’t care if you have a bad day. They care that you are there. They care that you exist. And that is lesson number two: love is presence.

Dogs remind us that love is not about great speeches, big surprises, or dramatic moments. Love is about being there. Sitting together. Walking together. Existing together. The ordinary moments — the most “nothing special” parts of life — are where love actually lives.

A dog waits for you at the door not because you brought something amazing home, but simply because you came home. Their happiness is not connected to what happened in your day — it is connected to YOU.

This is another lesson: love finds meaning in the small things.

Dogs don’t need a luxury life. They don’t need plans. They don’t need perfection. They simply need a warm place to rest, a gentle touch, a kind voice, and someone who cares. And with that, they are the richest creatures on earth. They show us that the biggest happiness comes from the smallest gestures — being seen, being held, being accepted.

Another powerful lesson is this: love has no shame.

Dogs are not afraid to show how much they love. They don’t hold back. They run to us. They jump. They lick our faces. They press their bodies against our legs. They lean their heads into our hands. They are not afraid to look ridiculous or too emotional. They don’t hide their hearts like humans do. They don’t protect their feelings. They just love. Openly. Fearlessly.

What a lesson that is.

To love someone without fear of looking too attached.
To love someone without protecting your pride.
To love someone without pretending to care less than you actually do.

This is a lesson we humans desperately need.

And then there is this lesson, maybe the most painful one: to love someone is to risk heartbreak. Dogs live shorter lives. We know this. We take them home anyway. We attach ourselves. We fall in love. We create a thousand routines and a thousand moments around them. But still — we choose love.

Dogs teach us that love is always worth it — even when goodbye is part of the story.

People sometimes ask: Why does it hurt so much to lose a dog?
The answer is simple: because dogs don’t leave us with regrets. They leave us with pure love. They leave us knowing we were loved fully. They leave us with memories where love was always present.

And the last lesson Kari taught me — the one that will stay with me forever — is this:

The most important love is the love of together.

Not the love of things. Not the love of success. Not the love of looking good in front of the world. The only love that matters in the end is the love shared between hearts. The love of simply existing side by side. The love of a normal day that becomes a treasure when you realize it will never come again.

Dogs remind us that we don’t need extraordinary days to live a meaningful life. We just need to live with love, without calculation, without fear, and without distance.

My dog taught me how to love in a way that is pure, simple, honest, and strong. And this kind of love — once you experience it — changes you forever.

GK

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Published by georgi.kisyov

52 thoughts on “What I’ve Learned From My Dog About Love”

  1. When our family dog ​​died years ago, someone said to me: “Why are you crying? It was just a dog, not your brother or anything.” I immediately told him to leave my apartment. Anyone who doesn’t understand that is not my friend.

    Silent greetings to you and your family

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. 🕊️
      People who say “just a dog” have never known the kind of love only a dog can give. Those who understand… they carry this bond forever. Your reaction was absolutely right — love deserves respect.

      Silent greetings back to you, and thank you for your kind words to my family.
      GK

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  4. ” Existing together. The ordinary moments — the most “nothing special” parts of life — are where love actually lives.” Beautiful tribute to Kari and post about love at its best. Straight from & to the heart ~ Rosie

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    1. Thank you, Rosie 🤍
      It took me time to understand how much beauty lives in the quiet, ordinary moments. Dogs never miss those moments — they treasure them. I’m grateful that this part touched you, because it is the deepest truth I learned.
      GK

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    1. Thank you so much, MC 🤍
      Dogs are such incredible teachers of pure, unconditional love. I’m grateful these words resonated with you — those of us who have shared life with a dog carry this truth in our hearts forever.
      GK

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  7. Beautifully said! I never experienced the pure joy of a dog until my daughter adopted a puppy. Her love is so powerful, even my husband who feared dogs more than anything in the world is now completely hooked and adores our grandpuppy like a true grandchild. I have never experienced this kind of unconditional love before.

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing this 🤍
      It’s amazing how a dog can open hearts we never expected — even the ones that were afraid. Their love reaches places nothing else can. I’m happy your grandpuppy brought this kind of pure joy into your family — this is exactly the power and beauty of a dog’s love.
      GK

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  8. This is so beautifully said — dogs love the way we all wish we could: without hesitation, without fear.
    The line about love being presence caught me most. It’s true — they don’t need words, just closeness.
    Thank you for writing something that reminds us what love looks like when it’s pure and steady. Marin Vale

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    1. Thank you so much, Marin 🤍
      You expressed it perfectly — dogs love the way we all wish we could. They don’t complicate anything, they simply choose us, every single day.
      And yes… their presence is what makes the difference. Just being near is enough. I’m grateful these words spoke to you.
      GK

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  9. Dear Georgi,

    Your words about Kari moved me deeply. I’ve loved and lost dogs too, and your reflections felt like a mirror to my own heart. That kind of love — unconditional, joyful, present — leaves a permanent imprint. It’s not just the memories that linger, but the way they taught us to love without fear, without calculation.

    Thank you for putting into words what so many of us feel but struggle to express. Your tribute to Kari is also a tribute to every dog who’s ever waited at the door, leaned into our hands, and reminded us that love is simple and sacred.

    With heartfelt resonance, Tracy

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    1. Thank you so much, Tracy 🤍
      Your message touched me deeply. There is a special connection between people who have loved and lost a dog — we recognize one another immediately. What they leave inside us is not just memory, but a different way of loving… softer, truer, without fear.
      I’m grateful my words resonated with your heart as well. In a way, this tribute is for all of them — every dog who has ever changed a human life with simple presence and pure love.
      GK

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  11. I got a chance to see how much love my sister’s dog has after visiting her last night, and learned myself that they grow whatever energy is being tossed around in their household.

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    1. That is so true 🤍
      Dogs feel the energy of a home more than anything else — they absorb it and then they reflect it back to us. When there is love, they multiply it. When there is stress, they feel it too. They really are emotional mirrors of the families they belong to.
      GK

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    1. Thank you so much 🤍
      If these words touched something in your heart, then we share the same truth — our precious pups teach us a kind of love that is hard to describe, but impossible to forget. I’m grateful this resonated with you.
      GK

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  19. This post brought tears to my eyes because I lost my long haired Chihuahua, Phoenix a little over 2 years ago. I still get sad because it was like losing a child. I had him for 15 years. I have a Chihuahua-Mini pinscher mix, Creed and he’s 9 years old. I adopted him in 2018 when he was 2 years old. I left him in the US when I moved to Panama. He’s with my son and I ask to see him on video chat when I talk to my son. He may not see me but he hears my voice. His ears perk up and he looks around for me. I know he misses me, like I miss him. I miss him like I miss my children and grandchildren. Dogs love is pure and unconditional. They are loyal to a fault. I trust my dog more than I trust people.

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    1. Thank you for sharing this with me 🤍
      Your words touched me deeply. Losing Phoenix after so many years together must have been incredibly painful — 15 years is a whole lifetime of love. And I can only imagine how emotional it feels to hear Creed react to your voice, even from far away. That shows how strong your bond is. Dogs remember love. They carry it with them always.

      You’re right — their love is pure and unconditional. And the way they stay connected to us, even across distance and even after they’re gone… that is something truly sacred.
      GK

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  20. We have known the heartbreak of losing two dogs over the past twenty years. Buddie was our first. Shortly after moving to the desert, he contracted Valley Fever, a disease we were unaware of at the time. He loved chasing ground squirrels, his head constantly buried in holes beneath the soil — the very place where the spores that caused the illness lurked. What began as a limp soon looked like a simple cold, but by the time the tests came back, it was too late. The fever had invaded his lungs and he was slowly drowning. We held him as he went to sleep and cried all the way home.

    A few years later, Shooter, a lanky American Fox Hound, came into our lives. We adopted him from a shelter, and from the start he was full of curiosity and charm, his back legs often outrunning his front as a pup. He grew into one of the most loyal pals we could have ever known. He passed at home of old age, with both of us holding him. The night before his vet appointment, he became very ill, looked at us, let out a soft whine as if to say, “I don’t want to go,” then closed his eyes and slipped away. It was the hardest goodbye I have ever experienced.

    As Georgi said, dogs do what no one else can. They know our truths and still love us. They see our shortcomings and remain by our side. They make us laugh when we are sad and comfort us when we are broken. That kind of love stays with you forever..

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing this with me.
      Your words moved me deeply. Buddie and Shooter sound like such wonderful souls — loyal, loving, and full of life. I can feel the love you had for them in every line. Those final moments you described are among the hardest we ever face, yet they also show how deep the bond truly is.
      You’re absolutely right — dogs love us in a way no one else can. Their love becomes part of who we are, and it never leaves. Buddie and Shooter will always be with you, just as Kari will always be with me.
      GK

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  21. This got to me. I know these feelings well. There’s something sacred about the way a dog loves, almost as if God tucked a small reflection of His own tenderness into a creature with soft ears and a beating tail. Your words make that truth shimmer. They carry both ache and warmth, the way grief always seems to walk hand-in-hand with gratitude. When you speak of Kari, you’re not just remembering a pet, you’re remembering a companion who lived out, in her own quiet way, what Scripture calls charity out of a pure heart (1 Timothy 1:5). Dogs don’t wrestle with pride or hesitation; they love the way we were designed to love before fear complicated everything. And I think that’s why their absence feels like such a hollow space. They didn’t just take up room in our homes, they carved a place in our hearts where loyalty, joy, and presence lived. Your reflection touches something deeply human: our longing to be loved simply for existing. Kari did that for you — faithfully, joyfully, without a single condition. And that kind of love lingers. It shapes you. It softens you. It reminds you that the truest love is not the loud kind, but the steady kind — the “I’m here” kind — the kind that reflects the heart of a God who says, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). I think the reason this touched me so deeply is because you captured something few people articulate – the courage it takes to choose love knowing loss will eventually arrive. Yet you’re right, we choose it anyway, because the gift is greater than the grief. And maybe that’s Kari’s final, gentle lesson: that a life becomes meaningful not because it is long, but because it is loved.

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    1. Your words left me speechless — thank you from the depths of my heart 🤍
      What you wrote is pure truth and poetry at once. The way you described a dog’s love as a reflection of divine tenderness… that touched me profoundly. Kari truly loved in that sacred, fearless way — steady, faithful, and pure.
      You captured exactly what I feel but couldn’t put into words: that choosing to love, even knowing loss will come, is one of the most courageous things we do. And yes… the gift is always greater than the grief.

      Thank you for reminding me that love, in its truest form, is presence — quiet, loyal, and everlasting. Your message will stay with me.
      GK

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  22. What a great post! I have had many dogs over my 69 years and have loved them all. The last several years I have had to desensitized myself because it hurts to bad. Like you said they just don’t live very long.

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    1. Thank you so much 🤍
      I completely understand what you mean — the pain of losing them is so deep because their love is so pure. Even knowing their time with us is short, they still find a way to fill a lifetime’s worth of love into those years. It’s never easy, but I believe every moment with them is worth the ache that follows.
      GK

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  23. First, thank you for reading and ‘liking’ my blog. I am inclined to think of WordPress as the place that stories go to die but then again, I make little effort to stay current and breathe a little life into it. But anyway, your ‘like’ brought me here and I just had to comment on what I have just read. I am a woman in my 60’s and would be living alone if it were not for the company of my two treasures, Toby and Coco who I got from a rescue 5 years ago. They are of no particular breed and are extremely naughty due to my own inability to train them as it always makes me feel as if I am being cruel to them. The chewed up furniture and their ability to steal anything that isn’t tied down with rope kind of contradicts my silliness. But the thing is that everything you said about love and how dogs express love is 100% true and you wrote about it so beautifully and precisely. Therein lies my problem. I can’t give them commands to ‘sit’ or ‘lie down’ or ‘jump through a hoop’ for treats because I just want to give them treats for being exactly as they are. They are just as you have described and the joy they bring into my life every moment of every day is pure gold. They are the reason I want to get up in the morning and hate to go to bed at night. I have had dogs around me all my life and therefore have endured the shattering pain of loss and grief when I have lost them. Many times I have vowed, ‘never again. I just can’t survive pain like this ever again’ but of course you know what I am going to say seeing as I have already mentioned Toby and Coco. When you have known this kind of love and even when you have lost it time and time again and your heart feels like it is going to stop beating with sadness, I think, particularly with dogs, it is intensely difficult to live without them because that love is addictive and unique. So, we eventually pick ourselves up and find new friends to become family members and start all over again. My brother lost his 18 year old Jack Russell Terrier, Mack, earlier this year. My brother is a big, tough, guy and nothing phases him but 8 months down the road and he is still shattered. He just sent me a photo last week of where he has had Mack’s name and image tattooed on his arm. It is the first and only tattoo he has. I have tried so hard to console him but he recently told me that he was more upset over the death of the dog than he was over the death of our mother some years ago and my brother idolised my mother and her, him. There is no words to explain this bond that happens between us although you have done an excellent job of putting words to it. Sorry for rambling on and not breaking up paragraphs. I’m a bit tired. But I absolutely love what you wrote and I will be back to re-read it and share it with others. Many thanks. Dearbhla

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    1. Dear Dearbhla 🤍
      Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story — your words touched me deeply. Toby and Coco sound absolutely wonderful — full of spirit, mischief, and love. I smiled reading about their “naughtiness,” because that joy, that spark, is exactly what makes dogs so unforgettable.

      Everything you said is true — their love is unique, addictive, and irreplaceable. No matter how many times we face the pain of loss, somehow our hearts find the courage to love again. Because once you’ve known that kind of pure, honest connection, life without it feels incomplete.

      Please tell your brother that I understand his pain — the bond he shared with Mack was clearly something extraordinary. That tattoo isn’t just ink; it’s a promise, a memory written on skin because love never really leaves us.

      Thank you again for your beautiful message and for reminding me how many hearts beat in rhythm with this kind of love. Give Toby and Coco a little extra treat from me tonight — simply for being exactly who they are. 🐾
      GK

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      1. Thank you so much for everything you have said. Isn’t it magical when you connect with another human being who ‘gets it’! Some people don’t and that’s OK although I have difficulty understanding people who actively dislike dogs but each to their own I suppose. Anyway, I did as you asked and gave Toby and Coco an extra treat from you last night and they both said ‘right on dude’ or maybe it was ‘write on dude’…I don’t always get the translations correct lol. Thanks again and best wishes from Ireland. Dearbhla.

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