When most of us think of “relationships,” we think of our connections with other people. And, clearly, those human relationships are some of the most important relationships we have. We also have relationships with nature or with a higher source.

And, for those of us who have pets, we have relationships with our dogs and cats. We understand that the connection we have with our animals fills a space in our lives that is often hard to explain to people who don’t have pets.

I have a golden retriever named Fremont. We have raised him from a puppy, and he has brought both joy and frustration into our lives (not that much different than our human children have). Recently, I was reading a book about goldens, and although I thought the writer was talking about Fremont, he could have also been talking about any of our animals that we love.

He said that the golden is a beautiful, wonderful dog with a face that seems to smile and who gets along with both cats and other dogs. He naturally bonds with adults and children and has a huge heart that he readily shares with anyone willing to accept it. He is generous, outgoing, affectionate and loyal. But the most golden part of the golden retriever is his heart.

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone could describe us like that?