Puppy Love

As I write this entry, my mantle dane, Zeebo, is asleep to the left of my chair. His big black nose twitches and his tail languidly wags as he cavorts through his dreamscape. To my right, crumpled in a gray and black heap, lies our newest dane addition, an 8 week old merle female named Suki, twitching, grunting and yelping in response to her own puppy-dreams. Suki arrived via Delta from FL on Monday evening and since then has pretty much done what she can to alternately ingratiate herself to the members of our household and disrupt as much of the routine as possible.

While in FL this Christmas, visiting with my dane-breeding family members, my resolve dissolved after spending a week surrounded by danes of all ages, sizes and colors. I experienced something similar to what my friend Barbara calls being sprinkled with "newborn forget-me-dust." Such a sprinkling allows new birth-mothers to forget the pain of childbirth and sign up to do it again a few years later. In my case, it was milkbone-forget-me-dust. When Zeebo turned 2 this past September, I had pretty much forgotten how much effort it takes to socialize a new puppy into a household. This time around, I have a new perspective. Not only am I attempting to teach her the rules of the game, but I realize she is reminding me of some important life lessons in the process.

Suki reminds me of the importance of mindfulness. With a puppy in the household, one must be conscious and mindful of protecting anything that one does not want tattooed or torn with sharp little puppy teeth. On a life lesson scale, this translates into being mindful on a daily basis about what we want to preserve in our lives (for example, time to exercise, time to meditate, date nights, or time at the ice cream parlor with the kids). It is easy to allow other things to intrude and place their own mark or tattoo on that which we need in our lives to keep us balanced and happy.

Suki is teaching me about curiosity. A day in the life of a puppy brims with opportunities and adventure. In her eyes, playing with a piece of crumpled paper is just as exciting as gnawing on a rawhide bone. Suki takes notice of everything that comes into her line of smell and vision and approaches her world from a place of curiosity and openness. When she takes notice, she becomes engrossed in her exploration. She sniffs, bats at, chews on, licks and rolls on top of the object of her curiosity. From a life-lesson perspective, how often do we cruise through our day without really taking notice of the people around us who come into our line of vision or consciousness? For example, with whom do you interact with on a near daily basis but have never taken the time to express interest in that person's life? Think: the dry cleaner attendant, the grocery store bagger, the mailperson, your childcare provider. I believe if everyone engaged with one another in this way, not only would our individual lives be enriched, but our world would soften to embrace, rather than reject, our vast cultural and ethnic diversity.

Suki is teaching me about enthusiasm. Puppies have a seemingly unlimited capacity for enthusiasm and Suki is the ultimate pep squad member. She is thrilled when anyone acknowledges her existence with a pat or words, her little body wiggles and squirms over the attention. She jumps up and down, ears and tail flapping with excitement, at the sound of her kibble as it's poured into her bowl. How would your life differ if you approached each hour with enthusiasm and hopefulness? This gets back to being curious about the world around you. For instance, rather than walking into your next staff meeting with your feet dragging and boredom already written upon your face, what if you went in with a goal to learn something or offer a suggestion in the meeting? Imagine the energy shift if you changed your attitude and approach to a not-so-novel situation!

Suki reminds me to express love and gratitude. Suki exudes love and acceptance. She is ecstatic when she sees my daughter, even if the lapsed time between the last "sighting" was less than two minutes ago. When Zeebo leans over to give her a sniff, she stands on her hind legs to embrace his face with her oversized paws and strains to lick his nose and jowls with her tiny pink tongue. When she stumbles upon me in my office, she plops her paws on my thighs and strains to give me an energetic puppy kiss. In the human realm, it's easy to forget to express our love and tenderness to those we care about. Some people have difficulty saying "I love you" each morning and evening, and think "Oh, (fill in the blank) knows how I feel about him/her." How long has it been since you picked up the phone to call your friend to wish her well? Let the loved ones you live with (and those who are far away) know your feelings. Doesn't it feel great when someone acknowledges and compliments you?

Suki reminds me to be grateful for all that is good in my life. Once again, it's easy to lose sight of the things which bring us joy and make our life easier because of their existence. (Believe me, I am especially grateful for my washer and dryer since her arrival!) Take some time to look around your environment and acknowledge your abundance.

Thought for the Day: How can you put into play some of the life lessons of mindfulness, being curious about the world, enthusiasm, and the importance of expressing love and gratitude this week?

Dogs are miracles with paws. ~Attributed to Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy