Friday's Weather Makes Me Think of Dogs

I think that someone is washing their small dog someplace in the south today because we are getting hit with more rain!

 Good thing Hubby got the lawn mowed yesterday while I slept most of the day.  Not feeling all that great yesterday meant that I didn't go far from the couch and stayed in my pj's most of the day.

But I did pull it together to be able to teach my dog classes last night and graduate a great group of dog owners and the dogs who share their lives. Do you have a dog? Do you train him/her?  Do you understand the connection between those little beings in your life and you?  These dogs,  come into our lives and take hold of our hearts, they wrap their tails around us and hold our secrets. We sing to them, talk to them, cuddle them.  We tell them about our day. We tell them about our family members who drive us to move forward, and those who drive us crazy.  We laugh at all the silly things they do and cry when they get old or sick because we fully understand what may be happening. The bond we have with them here on earth is never long enough and we talk about them long after they are gone from this earth.  They live in our hearts and minds for the rest of our lives.

So last night we celebrated our dogs in class.  We bragged about how far they have come in the 8 weeks since class started. We showed off ribbons that the dogs have won since starting class.  We played games that 8 weeks ago, the dogs couldn't do because either the concentration wasn't there, the skill wasn't there or the confidence wasn't there.   We showed off some old tricks and began to tackle new ones.  We took pictures of each others dogs and laughed and cheered as each dog tackled the "tunnel".

It was a night of joy and growth and laughter and love.  It was about challenges faced and challenges won.  It was about growth. It was all about facing, head on, bumps in the road and overcoming those bumps. In the wake of all that fun, we got dog kisses, tails wagging and one rousing game of dog tag!   The dogs loved it! The owners loved it!  It was a great last class with this bunch of students. All the things that this cancer patient needed as well.

Then we came home to the love of our own two lives.  Both waiting to go to bed but since we weren't  here, they didn't. They waiting until we walked into the house. Then they ran outside to go potty one more time, then they ran even faster down the hall and onto the beds. They were tired and wanted to sleep. Becke curled up on her big bed on the floor and August curled up in my arm pit on the bed.  As we fell asleep, we prayed for a friends daughter who may be making the difficult choice to help her dog - only 5 about years old - cross over the "Rainbow Bridge" and away from her this morning.  So all this rain made me think of dogs this morning.  The funny, the cute, the challenging, the loving, and the eventual and inevitable sad good bye.

Have you hugged your dog today?  Go, stop reading blogs right now, and go hug your heart on 4 legs.
See you Monday.