WOOFS OF WISDOM FROM GOLIATH

~ Woofs of Wisdom from Goliath ~

The wisdom you saw in me was a reflection of the wisdom you have access to if you will only open to it. If you will allow it to reveal itself, and if you embrace it as part of a new way of being. Wisdom is not for only a few but for the many. Everyone can have this wisdom if only they allow it to reveal itself. Simply open your mind and heart to hear its message. The message of love. The message of serenity. The message all is well.

OUT OF PAINFUL SITUATIONS CAN COME GOOD THINGS

Ah, Thanksgiving. That holiday sandwiched between flocked trees and blow-up Santas and  many times pushed aside in the rush to Black Friday. 

Well, corny as it may seem, I still like to take some time to be thankful for the many good things in my life—and that includes lessons that have come out of painful situations.

For instance, I lost one of my beloved dogs on August 28. Another furbaby is winding down his time here on the physical plane. Most of my other doggies are also facing some physical challenges. What I have learned from these situations is to let go of my tendency to be busy just because, and invest my time and energy with who/what is truly most important to me. 

Everything is weighed against, “This furbaby may not be alive tomorrow. So do I slow down and spend time loving these beautiful spirits who have adored me without question for years or do I (fill in the blank here).”

OK, I still have to cook meals and do laundry and pick up poop, but I’m making the time to love my furbabies—and trying not to beat up myself for the times I didn’t measure up to what I think I should do. 

So I’m grateful these situations led me to question what I’m doing and why. 

I’m grateful my “no” muscles are stronger so I can kindly and tactfully turn down requests from others that don’t match my priorities.

I’m grateful this has led me to be kinder to myself and realize my needs must one of the highest priorities in my life. Because if I go under, others depending on me will also go down. Not an option!

Interestingly, this has made me more intolerant of bad behavior. So I’m grateful for more courage to stand up to or divert or walk away from other people’s BS.

Looking at this particular list of what I’m grateful for seems somber amid a totally crappy year. There certainly have been rough times. But I woke up on New Year’s Day 2016 feeling like this was going to be the best year yet, and I think it has been. Whether you take the analogy of a phoenix rising from the ashes, or look at a pile of poop and think there has to be a pony in here somewhere, my lessons have been deep and life-changing. 

As I say in my writer’s bio, my rose-colored glasses may have bent frames and cracked lenses, but I always seem to clean them off and shove them back on my face. And for that resilience and plain old bull-headedness, I am also grateful. 

ANIMALS PROTECT EACH OTHER TOO!

While Goliath was growing and growing and growing, I witnessed the strong bond between animals.

Remember Ace didn’t venture past our front porch? Well, at least usually.

However, one day my younger son called me at work and said Ace had chased a man away from our house and a block and a half down the road.

My Ace was normally not aggressive. As we pieced together what happened, this guy apparently was in our side yard–where he had no business being. And puppy Goliath was sitting at the side door. We figured he was trying to steal the puppy and Ace showed him how inappropriate that was–breaking through the gate to prove his point.

After Ace dispatched the trespasser and would-be dognapper, he came back to the house. This incident strengthened another perception: not only is the connection between dogs and their humans special, so is the bond between animals.

NATIONAL ANIMAL SHELTER APPRECIATION WEEK

I’ve worked at my local animal shelter, volunteered there, adopted a number of dogs from the shelter and still have friends who work at the shelter. So I was pleased to see the week of November 6-12, 2016 designated as National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week by the Humane Society of the United States. 

You can support your local animal shelter in a number of ways:

—Adopt an animal

—Foster an animal

—Volunteer

—Donate 

—Attend special events sponsored by your local shelter

—Spread the word about shelter needs and adoptable animals

—Spay/neuter your pets and encourage others to do the same

MEET NOVEMBER'S DOGGIE HOST: GOLIATH

The Adored One: GOLIATH 

This Black Lab/Rottweiler mix was a nearly perfect dog--

all 105 pounds of him by the time he was fully grown.

WISDOM FROM ACE

Excerpt from

I Want to Have the Heart of a Dog

by Genie Gabriel <www.QuantumCanines.com>

BUY NOW!

~ Wisdom from Ace ~

I hope you know by now–without doubt, to the depths of your heart–every four-legged who has walked this physical life with you has tried to show you the pure love in your heart. We are the reflection of that love.

We are the message to let go of the need to punish, and to build your own pathway of love. You don’t have to follow what others have done. You don’t need any guide but what is in your heart. Simply allow. Trust what your heart tells you and allow. Let the fear fall away. Abandon expectations. Live moment to moment without fear of the future. You might have to occasionally wash the dishes or take out the trash, but revel in those moments too.

HUMAN-ANIMAL CONNECTIONS

Ace and I continued our regular walks–without further yappy dog incidents–until Ace was fifteen years old. On a particularly warm day, Ace collapsed on the sidewalk. A trip to the emergency vet and a later visit with our regular vet brought a diagnosis of laryngeal paralysis.

An expensive surgery could buy us some time and I wasn’t ready to lose my furry buddy. I pulled together the money and we drove forty-five miles for a pre-op visit. The vet staff took Ace to a back room without me and he almost died during the exam.

When they told me what happened, I requested a wet towel, a fan and a darkened room. Within fifteen minutes Ace was cooled down, calmed down, and breathing normally.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had stumbled onto the power of connections between dogs and their humans. 

Considering Ace’s reaction at being away from me, the vet surgeon knew something beyond the physical was at work here.

On the day of the surgery, they adjusted their usual procedures so I could be with Ace as much as possible. At the end of the day, he was allowed to go home rather than stay overnight–another concession to our connection.

****

Since becoming aware of this connection between humans and animals, I've experienced a number of other connections with dogs in my life. 

--Sophie and I connected while she was at the shelter. Though others wrote her off as a hospice dog, she told me we would have 2-3 years together. We had three wonderful years before she transitioned.

--My Cocker Spaniel, Rascal, and I first connected nose-to-nose when I picked him up from his neuter surgery. When he was returned to the shelter for biting at anyone and everything, he came home with me. With my beautiful Shepherd mix, Stewart, as his therapist, Rascal has spent many years in our doggie household, sleeping on my pillow at night.

I've also had connections with my Warrior Girls, which I talk about in my book, I Want to Have the Heart of a Dog, as well as other dogs. Perhaps the connection of most significance for me is with Collies, starting with the dog of my childhood, Tippie. He has returned four times to support me at critical times in this lifetime.  

If you feel a special connection with your pet, know they have come as a special messenger for you. I like to call them furry angels!