On this Mother’s Day I have so many things to thank my mother for, but this is first and foremost a dog blog, so thank you Mom for Shep, Blackie, and Clarkie. Raising kids it hard enough, but adding the responsibility of pets to the daily grind should elevate all Moms to sainthood. We all know kids swear they will help take care of the pets, but the reality was it was my Mom who washed the dog at midnight after he had been skunked.
Mom – by allowing your kids to grow up with pets, you not only improved our immune systems, but you encouraged relationships with three powerful influences in my life. The life lesson three of my fury best friends taught me have influenced my relationships and decision making throughout my life.
Every child should have a best friend tirelessly waiting for them at the front door when they come home from school everyday; every child should experience the power of unconditional love beaming back at them; every child should make the empty promise to walk the dog everyday and pick up poop; every child should have to pick up poop occasionally; every child should learn that if you love and care for something with patience and kindness it will love, flourish, and be forever grateful; every child should learn that they have the power to influence an outcome and change someone’s heart with their love.
Thanks to my Mom, I had the opportunity to learn all of these things from my family pets. Among many many other things, Sheppy taught me not to judge a book by it’s cover. He was big. He looked like a lion. He chased the gas man up on the hood of the family station wagon more than once. Sheppy taught me that sometimes your job is to protect the ones you love with fierce intimidating size and power and sometimes protection is all about love, patience, and discernment.
He taught me not to fear big things both literally and figuratively. He taught me that big strong beings could be gentle by choice. I think he always pretended to need his giant paw pet at just the right moment you needed a hug. He also taught me that if you wanted to make your vegetables disappear from your dinner plate unnoticed, you needed a teammate with impeccable timing and excellent non verbal skills.
Sheppy also taught me that when your friends are in trouble, you should make a big fuss until someone takes notice. Which leads to Blackie. She is her own story, but Blackie is the reason the idealist in me grew into such an undeniable monster. She is the real reason Gyspy Dog Ops exists. She taught me that you can change an outcome with love, caring, and sheer will. And from your actions, someone eles’s heart can change. Life won’t always let your pick your moment or let you know that this is your moment – so treat everyday like your actions matter and you can change the world. Even one cat or dog at a time.
Last but not least on the list of family pets, and of course I’m not counting the fish or the lizards because they either don’t blink or they are gross, was my Clarkie. In life, when two souls are truly connected, there is a communication at a frequency that can not be explained in words. My sweet Clarkie, his spirit will always be in my heart. I will never be able to explain how his soul could hear my heart, but it makes me believe in much bigger things. Thank you Clarkie for always taking care of my other BFF, Grandpa. You were a loyal and loving friend to him and you made my relationship with my Grandpa so much richer. You taught me that if you are not stingy or jealous with your love it will come back to you 100 fold. You always made me feel safe and loved. And thanks for always posing for whatever ridiculous picture I needed you to pose for. If you had lived during the internet era, you would have been a sensation!
Thanks Mom for all the dog baths, trips to the vet, burying of dead critters, shipping the pets across country, and most especially not telling anyone about the time the dog licked the icing off the carrot cake. I can’t imagine growing up in a house without the love and life lessons from our family pets.