We’ve all heard it before, that dogs are “man’s best friend.” It’s a simple phrase to describe one of the most complex feelings many people, myself included, rarely understand. After all, what does it even mean to be a “best friend”? I had a few dogs in my early childhood, but since then, only one beautiful creature comes to mind, Coltrane. This incredible Pembroke Welsh Corgi entered my life on December 24, 2014, and the angel left just as gracefully on September 29, 2025. Saying goodbye to my best friend was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but this event made me look closely at our nearly 11-year friendship. It helped me move closer to finding an answer to this question: what is it about them that makes dogs “man’s best friend”?

If I had to give a short answer, I wouldn’t be able to. Humans’ relationships with dogs have been around for literally thousands of years, so I think it’s safe to say that this question requires a little more thought. I think dogs almost always have certain qualities that every human strives for, and only a select number of people can get these qualities, like some parents after they first hold their kid, or something like that.

Something that dogs always have that many people don’t is loyalty, the most unwavering loyalty that can exist. It never falters, and it’s always strong. Even through his toughest times towards the end of his life, Coltrane, who couldn’t see and could barely hear, still found a way to come outside when his sixth sense felt my car pulling into the driveway after school. Every time I was gone from home for more than a day, the first thing to always greet me once I got back wasn’t any human in my family, but it was Coltrane. He always stayed by my side, especially when I wasn’t feeling well. Through every part of his life, Coltrane stayed with his pack, and gave all his effort to keeping it as healthy as he could.

Another thing that dogs will consistently provide is love, in the most unconditional ways you can think of. They don’t expect anything in return; they just hope that their love makes you better. When I say Coltrane gave all of his love to my family, and boy, do I mean it. In my toughest times, he knew, and would spend hours lying down with me, carefully protecting me from any intruders that might come in. He licked me, threw his body against mine, and never left until he felt like he did better, and he always succeeded. It’s not often people give truly unconditional love, even in the most intimate and meaningful relationships. To give everything you have to a person and expect absolutely nothing back isn’t something a majority of, or even any person for that matter, can do, yet I’ve seen that dogs are some of the few things that can.

I think part of the reason dogs are man’s best friends is because of the communication you have with them. For the most part, you can’t “talk” to dogs like you can with people. While you may know the intentions and perhaps the contents of what they want, you never get an exact wording, and this is one of the most endearing things about dogs. This sense of trust that you have with this companion, that also can’t quite get the exact wording of what you say is something that doesn’t exist with people. Because of this, you end up making your own special sort of language with your dog: mannerisms that you might do or keywords you might say to communicate. For a while, it’s a challenge. It’s a challenge to learn how to truly converse with your dog, which is why your connection becomes so strong after you learn to. In a way, it’s like when you have a friend that you might not see for a long time, but when you meet again, you hit it right off. See, in my opinion, dogs are like this, except you see them every day.

To be honest, I still don’t have an answer to the question of what makes a dog man’s best friend. At the very least, I understand the question’s complexity. It’s not just a catchphrase; it’s a statement that covers thousands of years of the most personal relationships that can exist. Like I said, I’ve had dogs before, but Coltrane was the first that was younger than me; he was the first I stayed with until his last day.

In the final act of his life, Coltrane started feeling the effects of his long journey on Earth. At first, he had problems in his joints, which limited how mobile he could be, as well as how far he could walk. Next, it was diabetes, in which he had to eat at certain times every day and receive injections of insulin not long after. Then, he couldn’t hear as well; where he used to respond to a regular voice, we would have to speak up louder, and I had to get extra close to tell him how much I loved him. Lastly, his sight left him; he often couldn’t see his way around our house or up our porch after a walk, though I’m sure he knew how much I cared.

While my family and I stayed as supportive of him as possible in the months in which his symptoms of a long life started showing up, we realized what sort of life he was living. Coltrane, despite his immense love for his people, was suffering. No being deserves to live in suffering solely for the sake of being there for others. He deserved real peace, not the temporary relief that we would give him as much as possible. This is why we decided to say goodbye, because while we knew we would miss everything about him, we couldn’t live with the fact that we could make his suffering stop, yet kept it from stopping.

The hardest decisions require the strongest wills, but I would do anything for my best friend. Because all dogs go to heaven, I’m sure Coltrane’s having a grand ol’ time, but I’m sure he’s taken a look down at me and seen how much I miss him. I think the way dogs fully dedicate their lives to a few special people is one of the most beautiful things there is. I really can’t put into words how loyal Coltrane was, but one of the most accurate descriptions I’ve seen was from the words of Jane Austen.

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves; it is not my nature.”