The One Thing That Goes With Everything

There are certain things we're told every wardrobe needs.

The perfect pair of jeans. A great white shirt. Something black that works with absolutely everything.

But after a lifetime of buying things I was certain I couldn't live without, I've realized there's really only one thing that has managed to go everywhere, work with everything, and somehow make every version of my life better.

My dog.

Dogs have quietly moved from the edges of our lives right into the middle of them.

They travel with us. Sit beside us at restaurants. Show up in family photographs and wedding ceremonies. We choose dog-friendly hotels, rearrange our homes for them and have somehow accumulated more pictures of them on our phones than of most of our relatives.

And yes, we buy them beautiful things.

The popularity of handmade dog collars, dog harnesses, bandanas and luxury dog accessories may look like it's about fashion.

I don't think it is.

I think it's about love.

The things aren't really the thing.

I had a dog named Kenya.

She died more than seven years ago, and losing her destroyed me.

I still have her collar.

It hangs from the rearview mirror of my car.

By any practical definition, it's an old dog collar. It doesn't fit anyone. It doesn't serve a purpose. I don't need it.

And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Because when something belonged to a dog you loved, sometimes it stops being a thing.

It becomes evidence that they were here.

Maybe that's why choosing beautiful things for our dogs means more than we realize while we're doing it.

At LOVEDOG, we make handmade dog accessories because we love beautiful design. The fabric matters. The construction matters. The details matter.

But the accessory was never really the point.

The dog is.

Everything we make is for them, in honor of them. A tribute to love, humor and joy — and to the steadfast friend and beautiful presence who somehow becomes stitched into the fabric of our lives.

Collars wear out. Bows get tossed in drawers. Bandanas get washed a hundred times.

And occasionally, an old collar ends up hanging from a rearview mirror for seven years.

Not because of what it is.

Because of who wore it.

And maybe the one thing that goes with everything was never a thing at all.

It was love.