My beloved pack from 1992 to 2002: Shandy, Darby, and Rogan.

Thanksgiving is a great time to give thanks for our wonderful canine companions and all that's so very special about them. But for me, a corollary to giving thanks for our dogs is to remember not to take our dogs for granted—ever.

There are many things that can cause us to forget to focus on our beloved pooches—heavy workloads, family worries, busy schedules, and on and on. But I've found that the most insidious distraction of all is grief.

From the summer of 1992 to the summer of 2002, my dog pack consisted of three wonderful members—Rogan the cocker spaniel, Shandy the Doberman, and Darby the husky. But when I lost both Rogan and Shandy in quick succession in 2002, my heart turned heavy and I unwittingly began to obsess over my losses, all the while forgetting to appreciate what I still had—my beautiful Darby.

He was depressed, too, and I tried everything to cheer him up—agility classes (which he excelled at, even at his mature age!), taking him to work with me, asking a friend to come to the house to keep him company if I had to go out, etc. But still, I know that part of my brain was preoccupied with my loss of Rogan and Shandy, and that part was not paying attention to Darby.

That's when the Universe stepped in to teach me an important lesson. It was like somebody up there was looking down at me and saying, "Enough, already! You want something to cry about? I'll give you something to cry about!" And then Darby started to limp. I soon found out that he had bone cancer and was not long for this world either.

That's when it hit me what a fool I had been. I had a treasure at my side and had not appreciated it—at least not as much as I should have. I had been blinded by grief. This will never, ever happen to me again. My new motto goes beyond "Carpe diem!" (Seize the day!)—now it's "Carpe canem!" (Grab the dog!). Please, everybody, grab your dogs, too—right now, before it's too late—and let them know how much you love them. Don't make the same mistake that I did—don't ever take them for granted.