Five months ago I brought home my rescue dog Lullaby from the Legacy of Love Rescue. It took awhile to learn each other’s habits, sleep schedules, nuances, joys, and quirks. We’ve slowly been figuring things out, but here are 10 things I’ve learned from her that helped shift my everyday perspective.
10. Routine is appreciated. She has learned to walk in the early morning by the trees in our apartment complex, where the squirrels tease her, and she chases them back. Lullaby appreciates her meals the same time, seeing familiar human faces, and dog friends. Familiarity brings comfort.
9. Let others know you’re pissed off. Yes, some of Lullaby’s accidents have been intentional. If friends visited she’s disapproved of or she felt ignored or left out, she’s not afraid to show her emotions.
8. We all need self-soothing techniques. Like many bulldogs, Lullaby engages in “nooking”, which is a form of self-soothing, where she chews on a stuffed animal as she quiets herself to sleep. Any excess energy is transmitted to the animal, as Linus would towards his transitional object/blanket.
7. Greet Everyone With Your Presence. Lullaby tends to be curious and joyful about every human and dog she meets. Her whole body demonstrates her exuberance. She is present to each who step on her path and lets them know they are worthy of her attention. It’s not just eye contact she offers but full body acknowledgement that she welcomes them into her world. Although Lullaby says hello to everyone and offers a little wiggle to show she wants to play or get a head rub, not everyone wants to engage. Even though she has been ignored by some, barked at by others, and bitten by several, she forgets. She knows that each being is worthy of a greeting, but is still learning everyone doesn’t want to play. As her owner, I have learned to be more cautious of who she can greet. Despite this she welcomes all.
6. Cuddles For Comfort. The first two weeks I had Lullaby, she was inseperable. She slept right by my face and shoulder. I had to get used to the snores by my ear and the warm body next to me. She strived to be as close as possible to me. She wanted to know I wouldn’t also abandon her, like her previous owners. With time this shifted and her comfort grew.
5. Time is Precious. When Lullaby is full of energy and taking every toy out of it’s bin, I am reminded that this time is precious. She is healthy, young, full of curiosity, and a desire to play. I have had dogs who lived until 15 and 16 years old, and had to care for their aging bodies that had a hard time moving. Every moment is precious, and when she is rambunctious I can remind myself that I am lucky she is so healthy and happy. This time is limited.
4. It’s Easy to Sink Up With Your Owner. The times that my menstrual cramps seemed unbearable, Lullaby would cuddle next to me and lay on my belly. She was in tune and aware of the pain I was feeling. No words needed to be communicated but she offered her sympathy to me.
3. All Toys are Appreciated. Initially we started out with only several stuffed animals, and slowly the collection expanded. Despite this Lullaby does not limit her attention to a select few. Often she pulls out every toy from her collection throughout the day and distributes her play to all.
2. I May Never Know Her Past. I don’t know much about Lullaby’s past. I don’t know her previous name prior to being at the rescue, or who raised her, how many litters of puppies she had, or where she lived. All I know is she was used for breeding, had an emergency c-section and was brought to a rescue. All puppies died from the c-section. I knew there was a lot of trauma surrounding her surrender. I also got her shortly before mother’s day, and after sharing this with my friend and healer Lisa, she reminded me that we needed a ceremony for her loss. And so I created a small ritual and ceremony for her and the puppies she lost on Mother’s Day. I am unaware of what Lullaby thought of this, but I feel she sensed the intention of acknowledgement to her loss.
1.Find Joy in Everyday. After her morning downward dog stretch in the bedroom, she waddles into the living room and automatically goes for a toy. Seeing squirrels in the yard serves as her caffeine and seeing friends and staff at daycare lights her up. At the end of the day, when it’s time to pick her up, she’s just as excited to greet me as she was to leave me. Each moment offers an opportunity for joy.
If we are present with our pets, we can learn so much from what they have to offer us. There is an innocent and intuitive wisdom these beings hold, and hopefully you are lucky enough to witness it on a day to day basis.
