Lessons taught by my dog

This is Ziggy Zero Achak Stompy the Horse Dog. He is a Harlequin Great Dane, but not your breed standard Harl. He was born deaf because of a genetic anomaly passed from his parents. I rescued him when he was 11 weeks old, excited for the opportunity to make this Gentle Giant an acceptable and well liked part of society. Little did I know, he would soon be rescuing me.
Though met with much skepticism, I went to meet him. With the decision left up to me, I knew I had to bring him home. On the long ride home from Woodland, Utah, he peed in my lap.
I taught him to sit with a flip of my wrist, he taught me patience and persistence. I taught him to lay down, catch a treat, I taught him good boy, no and stay all with my hands. I taught him to drop it and leave it, but he's still trying to teach me to leave well enough alone. He taught me that you don't need to hear someone tell you something, sometimes feeling is enough. He taught me to trust my gut. He showed me how to be free, smell the flowers, just to sit and just be. He taught me about companionship, what it should be and what it should not. When another taught me to be selfish, Ziggy disproved the theory all together and re-taught me how to be utterly unselfish and give of myself. The last year together, we've met some trials on our path, many losses, his tail being one but we've pushed on. He's taught me not to give up unless I can see, feel and smell it to be a lost cause. Ziggy is a better judge of character than me, I listen to him when he tells me he doesn't like something about someone. I've learned too, if you don't like my dog, then there is no way you could possibly like me.