A Small Horse Named Reese

I was reading The Bloggess and she just lost her cat after a long struggle to save him. I realized that I have never blogged about my incredibly large chocolate lab named Reese. And no, for all those who go to church with me, we did not name him after our pastor.
We took Reese in when he was 7 months old. My younger brother had rescued him. He was being trained to be a hunting dog when he had some strange accident that left him paralyzed on one side of his face. The vet was told that he was chewing on a stick and it went through the roof of his mouth. The owner was going to have him put to sleep and the vet asked if he could try to find him a home first. My brother took him in, but being a young lab, he was a little too much for the family. Paul had a chocolate lab once when living in PA and he had an instant connection with Reese. We took Reese in and he became our baby.
Paul proceeded to spoil this dog. Reese thinks he's a human. He always needs to be around people. He's hogs the couch. Literally. If we're laying on the couch, he'll jump up and start stretching out, eventually forcing you off the couch. He starts barking at O'dark thirty and wakes everyone up cause apparently he can no longer stand being alone. He loves licking the lotion of my legs cause he just loves the taste of it. He opens the trash can with his nose and then runs to hide when he hears us coming to make him stop. He locks himself in the basement bathroom in the middle of the night and then barks to wake us up to let him out.
I found that in my postpartum depression, I've been incredibly impatient with him and I get very angry at him for always being underfoot. But, I liken his love to God's love. No matter how much I dismiss him or shove him aside, he always greets me with a wagging tail when I come home from work. He comes to say good morning every morning and always has kisses for me. Now, I'm not saying that God licks my face - but no matter how little I pay attention to him, he loves me anyway. That's unconditional love.