“If what you want lies buried
dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day,
be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.”
— Unknown
The dog days of summer have passed. Is October and I recognize this month as very special. My constant companion, Buddha Bear the brindle boxer, was born in the first week of October nine years ago. I have learned about how to raise a puppy. He has taught me many lessons while I worked to train him into being a well-behaved boy.
He claimed the name of Buddha with his positive nature that acted to calm every person and pet he ever met. And as he grew he earned his consulting stripes, accompaning me into many of my client’s organizations and working his special listening magic while I worked mine.
In this ninth year his muzzle is now gray and he walks beside me on the beach instead of running loops around me. Despite his age, Buddha Bear still is the wise, loyal, and comforting old soul whom I adore.
Five years ago, at the end of the month of October, our lives changed dramatically when I succeeded at earning the trust of a feral, abandoned, very large dog whom I found while looking for a friend’s runaway pup. On October 30, 2013, after two months of patiently feeding him every evening, Big Boy let me put a collar on him, lift him into my car, and take him home. It was then that our life together as a family of three began.
Initially, I did not think I would keep Big Boy. My goal was just to rescue him into a safer, kinder situation. It wasn’t long before Buddha Bear and I found ourselves to be the family for this large, South African Mastiff who would forever change the way we lived.
So, for me and my family, October is the month we celebrate dogs! My dogs have enriched my life. They have shared the highs and low and taught me as many lessons as I try to share with them. They cause me to break out in song and dance, talk in a funny voice, and remain playful as I age along with them. The tree of us share in my adventures, compete for bed space, cause me to walk every day, remind me to practice mindfulness, celebrate every holiday with gust, share my food, and live life fully and gratefully in the moment.
I am grateful for my dogs and the people they have brought into my life.
Do you have someone in your life that brightens your day and teaches you something new every day?
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