Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Be the Person Your Dog Is…

I love the bumper sticker that says, I try to be the person my dog thinks I am.  While I fully identify with that sentiment, I might subscribe more to trying to be the person my dog is…

What is inspiring about Mia?  Let's be honest, she has had really rough 4 months!  Bad dog bite over Christmas, fractured wrist mid February, and opossum attack mid March that included infected bite wounds requiring 2 antibiotics...!  She spent about a month getting 7 pills twice a day - not to mention, no fetch, or play time for at least 6 weeks!  And this is one active pup.  But she has handled it like a champ - stayed in great spirits and taking things such as the awkward splint, in stride.  The trooper is still "smiling".

When Mia is bored with my head in the computer or a book, she finds her own entertainment – which truly cracks me up.  Mia gets her bone and tosses it in the air, jumps away from it, then on to it, away again, then pauses and studies it – as if it may make some sudden movement.  The hunter in her never sleeps.  Then she takes to tossing it around again – eventually letting it slide under a sofa or the TV cabinet.  This, of course, requires my involvement in this game…  Accidents happen, I suppose.  But how can I not admire someone making their own fun?

On days I work from home and leave the back door open - she'll wander out and just sit in the sun.  One ear is focused on my sneak escape that I never do but she always expects – but she (mostly) relaxes and enjoys a beautiful day.  I love that!  It always reminds me that I should "stop and smell the roses" and enjoy the precious present.  If a dog intuitively knows that, #ThisJane Says it must be true.

Where do I see Mia most happy?  Without a doubt, it is playing fetch.  Good gracious that dog would fetch until her body literally could not move after the ball anymore.  Our record was over 2 1/2 hours on the Hughes’s back porch with several beers and rotating human throwers.  We all tuckered out at that point - not Mia.  #ThisJane says, when you find something you love, never give up on it.

Do I want to be the person my dog thinks I am, you bet!  But #ThisJane Says I’ll also try to be a little like the crazy pup too: Keep on smiling, make my own fun, be present and never quit.