The Year of the Dog: Reflections by the Fire

It is December 17 at dusk. The sun’s descent has stolen the once crisp outline of the clouds. My eyes reach into darkness and come up empty. The utility company’s failure to garner the sparks to light up Santa Fe has sent me in search of some form of low light endeavor, and Gabrielle, my fluffy white Great Pyrenees sees nothing wrong with this lowly lit evening, as he lies contentedly at the foot of my large fireplace. It’s a perfect moment to reflect upon my year of the Dog… to contemplate upon the countless dogs and dog lessons amassed, lessons I have learned from dogs and not the other way around.

Lessons like………….. Stay in the moment. Don’t hesitate to express joy and/or love. Move away from what you find distasteful. Be compassionate but don’t be afraid to distance yourself from angry people and animals. Eat with enthusiasm, sleep, and love with abandon, frolic with your friends, express your boundaries clearly, and jog along life’s paths with joy and passion and most of all jump, run, and play!

In 2010 I walked and exercised dogs, gathered two national dog training certifications, taught group lessons, taught private lessons, learned how to train and work with assistance dogs, visited the sick and elderly and dying with dogs, delved into dog scent training and reveled in canine olfactory abilities, learned of agility gained through team playing with my canine companions, refined the art of loose leash walking along busy byways and serene and conifer laden mountain trails, and met the likes of Temple Grandin and other human wizards that have brought the canine world increasingly into view.

…and through the kindness and loving reception that I have had the privilege to receive from these many canine friends, I have meant some very valuable humans along the way. I have met humans that share in their love, their knowledge and their appreciation of this magical world of the modern day wolf’s cousin we call the Dog. I have traveled from Atlanta to Austin in search of more knowledge, and in the New Year have plans for San Antonio to add to my dog training acumen.

I feel blessed to be working with dogs and their people. It’s a life long dream my sister reminded me of just this week. She said, “Candy you said when you grew up you wanted dogs and to live in Connecticut.” Well Santa Fe is hardly Connecticut, but the dogs are with me each and every day and that’s just fine with me. May 2011 bring us all a hefty amount of joy with our special canine companions and be yet another YEAR OF THE DOG.