WHY CAN’T I BE more like the person I think my dog believes I am? That’s a rhetorical question, but one I’m pretty sure, you, fel- low dog lover, have asked yourself at least once. We go about our daily routines, almost on autopi- lot. Leave it to a dog to bring me back into the present; to remind me of the importance of my significant other in life, love and career. One day, recently, during the
editor unleashed...
Anna, Zoe, Chloe, Doogie and Rita.
crazy pace of magazine production and deadlines, Steve returned from an appoint- ment. “Hi,” I said. “Hi,” he said back. Then he walked into his office, and
this is what I heard, in an affectionate, sweet tone of voice: “Hey baby, how are you, huh? You doing okay? That’s my girl.” He was, of course, speaking to one of the dogs. That’s when I finally looked up from
my computer and
laughed...sort of. I men- tioned my observation to him later that day; how he barely acknowledged my greeting, but was all over the dog. His thoughtful response was, “Well, there she was, waiting for me in my office, smiling and wagging her tail. She was really happy to see me. I recall, you didn’t even look up at me when I walked through the door. It wasn’t a slight against you at all. But it was a natural response when I saw the dog.” That was a good lesson for both of us,
and a reminder of how complacent we can become with a sincere show of our feel- ings for each other. Dogs don’t miss a thing, or an opportunity to give it their all. They help us come out of our shells to become better humans. It is an ongoing process, and one they never seem to tire of. I believe dogs have the ability to tune
out negativity, especially those dogs who live with us. Doogie, the Scottish Terrier we adopted from Dunedin Dog Rescue (DDR), is an excellent example. He had been owner-surrendered to a veterinarian in North Florida, with a request to be euthanized. His crime: the young couple who had bought him a year before, had just had a baby. They were concerned the dog was too aggressive for them. Thankfully, the veterinarian refused to
euthanize this otherwise healthy dog. Several weeks in a kennel, however, with little socialization, led to the Scottie becoming anxious and depressed. DDR
6 THE NEW BARKER
agreed to take him and subsequently, a wonderful couple, Louise and her now late husband, Ken, fostered the little guy. Louise trained Doogie to come to her by whistling the first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Doogie McDoogal has been the per-
fect gentleman since we adopted him six years ago. The humans in his life, however, eventually became a little lax in maintain- ing his good manners. Over time, for some reason, we stopped whistling the most famous symphonic phrase ever written and reverted back to that old standby, Doogie, come! Of course, he stopped coming when called; even stopped looking up. “I’ll come when I want to; I must finish patrolling the yard for squirrels and other vermin first.” This attitude only exasperated his humans more. DOOGIE COME! Nothing. Then, I heard those four notes on the
radio. Talk about a Pavlovian response (mine). Maybe I could reprogram Doogie, I thought. It turns out, the humans were the
only ones who needed to be repro- grammed. As Doogie was patrolling the perimeter of his yard, paying no attention to me at all, I quietly whistled the four notes. His head perked up in my direction and after just a very brief moment, he ran straight for me, sitting down at my feet. I gave him a treat and lots of praise. The cool thing about this “breakthrough” is that Rita, our MinPin, is responding to it as well. It’s fun for everyone. Positive rein- forcement...what a concept. We all benefit from it. So, thank you, Doogie, for another
valuable lesson, and for your patience. You knew we’d eventually come around, didn’t you? A triumph over adversity –– actually the theme of Beethoven’s Fifth. Thank you also, for believing that I could be the per- son you think I am.U
www.TheNewBarker.com
Photograph by Laura Allen Studios.
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