Life Lessons by Daisy


I've been slacking off in the blog area, but I've had a lot of ideas about what to post. I've come across a few blogs while surfing around the internet, and I've experienced a lot of different things since the last time I posted. One of the best posts I read was written by a woman (I'm pretty sure) who had moved from a city environment to a more suburban area (maybe), and she wrote about how her dog has taught her about life.

Daisy, my dog, has helped me a lot in the three years we've had her. We got her because I was unemployed, unmotivated, and depressed. I had just been fired from a job I hated, and couldn't figure out what to do next. I had no one to talk to during the day and no motivation to do anything while I was alone. So, we went to the local pound/rescue/shelter. We wanted to look at a beautiful dog named Bella, who was featured on their website. There were other families in line for her, so we went for a walk around the pound. There were puppies! And then there was this dirty reddish-brown dog in an outdoor pen. I wanted to meet her and so we took her for a walk. She knew commands, had a silly name of Daisy, was covered in dirt and mud, and smelled terrible. Her ears were funny, came with dirty bowls and a skinned tennis ball.

So, we got her groomed. And she still smelled. We put ointment in her ears, and they still smelled bad. So, we started buying her special food, and while she still smelled bad she smelled less bad. She's now on a grain-free, dairy-free diet. She doesn't smell bad, her ears are much better, and if we keep her away from dairy products her farts aren't too bad.

She's taught me patience, and that using tools appropriately can make life better. She's taught me that going for walks can be the best part of the day, or car rides, or treats, or just going outside. She's taught me that no matter how bad my day is, I can still choose to live in the moment and enjoy going for a walk. She's also taught me the joy of victory. I've been working on walking with her, we have a no-pull harness, but she's rather stubborn. We walk and we stop, and I've been teaching her that me stopping means she needs to stop and sit. We also stop and sit at all cross walks. My husband took her out one day, and Daisy nearly killed him by stopping at crosswalks, as he was on rollerblades. Oh, the joy of victory.

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