To Live, To Love… (written in 2016)

We all have our load of experiences and turmoil in our lives. We try to carry on, as best we can, with the baggage we have accumulated. To let go of the things that haunt us. There is someone in my life who goes about her business like no one else. No matter what happens to her, she manages to keep a joy and spring in her step even through old age. She is ready to go at a moments notice and always has energy for the ones she loves.

Some of you might have figured out by now that I am talking about my dog Amy. I have been gifted with one of the best dogs I have had the chance to meet. She is a bundle of joy who loves to run, can be full of energy, happens to love to cuddle and is a real whore for affection.

We teach dogs commands and we train them to obey to a certain extent. Every dog I have owned including Amy still finds ways to get themselves into trouble. Every now and then she will get into a trash can and spill it’s content all over the place. She will hop onto my bed and curl up in there while I am gone if she is alone (she knows she is not allowed). These things used to make mad…

Until the day I realized she is a dog and she “doesn’t know better”. She didn’t aim to get me mad, she smelled something that she couldn’t resist and she ate it. She missed me and curled up in a place that smells like me. Any mayhem she gets herself into can usually be avoided by a simple action on my part (put trash out of reach, close a door). I realized some time ago that when I get mad at her for doing something, I am really mad at myself for forgetting that she is a dog and will do those things if I don’t take the time to prepare for them. Staying mad with her would be useless, she wouldn’t understand why I am mad and it would serve no useful purpose. She was just being a dog and doing her dog thing.

This has taught me to keep my calm around people. They are just doing their thing and usually don’t aim to be mean or rude or whatever. They are humans doing human things and whether or not it is in their nature is arguable but getting mad over it is useless. I just have to find what I can do to make things different (close a door, put the trash out of reach…).

I am glad I have a dog in my life, she shows me how one should love and live. She does her dog thing and seriously couldn’t care less if you think it’s ok or not that she gets hair all over your coat, she wants HUGS! She never runs out of affection to give or receive, in the moment, nothing is more important to her than the people she is with.

I could go on and on, but she teaches me how to be a better person every day… we could all learn a thing or two about being better people, if we only listened to our dogs more…