The Company You Keep

Mom always warned me about hanging around with the wrong crowd.  I could understand about those junkyard dogs - they played too rough and didn't take anybody's feelings into consideration. You know the sort of just ambush and attack type of personality. And of course then there are those stuck up conformation dogs.  They think they are better than every body else but put them in with the rest of us everyday Spots and Rosies and they pace back and forth never interacting with another dog.  Some of them just sit int the corner. I tried being friendly with a big Champion Great Dane once until he smacked me down with his big paw. I know enough to keep my distance from them.

But my sister, Ruach? Who ever thought she would lead me astray. She's a Service Dog, an Obedience Champion. Why would she lead me down the dark path of - (shudder) stealing boxes of treats in the middle of the night. Oh but she was poetry in motion. The box of milkbones had been sitting on the counter for a week. Aunt Barbara had brought them for us. Ru doesn't go after something right away - that way she lulls mom into forgetting to do something about it (like putting it away). She quietly placed her paws on the counter and grabbed the box in her strong jaws and carried it outside through the dog doors to the backyard.

I danced around Ruach as she held the treasure in her mouth. How would she get into the box? It hadn't been opened yet. I asked if I should get Cherokee because she is really good at getting into things but Ruach shrugged it off. "Nah, Got it covered." She took one paw and tipped up the box and with her teeth ripped the front of the box off and all the bones came tumbling out.  Ruach is just so amazing. I bowed and bounced hoping she would share some of the treasures she had loosed from its prison and glory hallelujah! she shared with me.

Then all of a sudden the light went on inside. Oh no. Mom was up. We went running inside and jumped on the bed but mom knew something was up. Our tails sort of gave us away and Ru wasn't snarling at me to get off the bed the way she usually does. (Should of thought about that.) Mom knew something was up, kept asking what we were up to. Went and checked the garage (thank goodness Ru had enough sense to take the box out to the backyard). Told us "I don't know what you two have done but I'm sure I'll find something outside in the morning."

We stayed in bed until mom fell asleep and then slipped back outside to finish off the bones. Mom found the box in the morning and turned to us and said she expected something like this out of Ru but me, never me. I was letting my older sister influence me to go over to the dark side and would end up in the big black cage like Ruach but then she smiled and said "but for once it looked like the two of you were working together."

We are influenced by the company we keep. Have you ever noticed that a gray day can be changed by talking to someone who feels blessed in their lives even when everything isn't going well. Things are rough out in the human world and it is real easy to just fold in on oneself and go hide in a hole. And if we hang around with people who are critical, without any suggestions for improving the situation or who can't even see the joy in a baby's smile, a kitten's purr or a dog's tail wag then it is real easy to dig that hole deeper and deeper. So every now and then, even though your life may seem to be on a treadmill going nowhere or even worse a spiral going down, jump off and hang out with some people who think their life is blessed even just because they're on the green side of the grave.

There are a lot of things to complain about in life. Dogs stealing treats in the middle of the night could be one of them. But all I could do was laugh as I saw the two of them wagging their tails trying to say with their bodies, "Who us, we didn't do anything. Just go back to sleep. We're here to protect you."

So if things start looking too dark in your life, take a look at the company you're keeping and until then we'll see you around the kennel and remember try to keep all four paws on the ground.

It's Rough Being a German Shepherd

People see Arkeo and the first thing they think is "police dog" "guard dog" must be vicious, must be dangerous. We walk through the dog show in Denver and other handlers, with their fluffy dogs whether large or small, take one look at us (with Arkeo walking perfectly at my side), and pull their dogs away standing between them and us with a look on their face of that Arkeo is going to eat their precious darling. All because she is a German Shepherd. Meanwhile, all Arkeo is thinking of is finding a tennis ball or a little kid who will pet her or maybe a nice juicy bone to gnaw on. But this is not what people's perception is and so Arkeo gets branded and ostracized and if she ever got loose, in some communities might be considered to be a dangerous breed if the cops picked her up. It is really rough being a German Shepherd sometimes.

But you know, we do the same thing to people and people do the same thing to us. I was labeled as being "a danger to self and others" because of a misinterpreted voice mail."  (The Rhuemotology dept is still apologizing for that one.) But the one that gnawing on me right now is the fact that people feel they have the right to assume what is in my mind and on my heart just because I have the title Rev. in front of my name.  "I guess it's hard to refrain from acting like a minister." was the comment, and all I said was "amen" in agreement with someone's statement and was accused of "spreading religion" and that I might offend someone. Guilty of association by prefix. Not even pointing out that the definition of the word means to agree by assent and is used in most educated British circles could take their suspicions and branding of me away.

I don't know what to do about closed minded people whether they are closed minded toward my dog or toward me. In a sense it's like trying to climb over a wall that keeps getting taller because if they find this small thing to stick on you, you know they will find something else and the wall will just keep getting taller. It also makes this particular group of people who called me on this word not a safe place me. Because I will not know whether or not something else in my conversation will be objectionable to someone.  It's like traveling with Arkeo and her acting with perfect good manners but someone having had a "bad experience" with a German Shepherd having decided they are all vicious dogs. Its like walking on eggshells and a bit frightening.

So Arkeo and I will go where we are welcomed as ourselves without presumptions or assumptions. And we will try our hardest not to make those judgement about others. (Though I can't guarentee Arkeo makes the same promise about the squirrels in the backyard.)

Until later - see you around the kennel and keep all four paws on the ground.