“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, 
or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” 
Abraham Lincoln

This morning, while walking with J, the dog rescuer, I had several “aha!” moments.

My precious pooch, Cindi, is best behaved when I walk with someone (J) who loves and knows about dogs.

It as if Cindi and I sense three things:

One – She cannot get away with any random barking without a swift and immediate reprimand because we try to show J how well we do together.  We both want her approval on our ‘walking on leash’ performance.  We both want an “Atta girl.” Treats for me would be nice.  Maybe next time.

Two – There will be a lot of walking and talking.  Dog stories rule our conversation and the pace is rather brisk.  Both the discourse and the exercise course vary but the topic of dogs is high on the list, of course. I believe Cindi is more attentive than usual and probably enjoys all the canine references.

Three – Loving, Kindness and understanding are exchanged.  Situations are resolved and lessons are learned.  Cindi feels the vibe and the vibe is good.

I also realized there is a completely new world of gossip to consider.  We observe how other dogs behave with their owner, how they respond to Cindi and we deduce what that means about the owner.  We complain about people who do not pick up after their pet.  We judge certain breeds, looks and attitudes.  We admire the perfect prissy gait Cindi acquires when she strolls right past those well-known spots where we encounter neighbor dogs that bark uncontrollably behind their owner’s fences.  Cindi loves to mark a few feet away from them; just to show them she was there, so they can remember her.

We looked all over town today for a gorgeous dog named Diamond.  A lady, about our age, had lost it when it jumped over her six-foot block wall.  She is its foster mom and clearly, she was in a panic.  Her eyes were swollen and red.  Her demeanor was vigilant as she stopped her car and asked rather forlornly but hopeful about the wandering escape artist.  J had the sense to ask her for her phone number and put it in her cell but we both did not think of asking the woman’s name.  We came across many walkers also looking for Diamond and even waved down and asked the local police to be on the alert.  She (the dog) is on Facebook now and that is how I know she is not a slim, brown husky as we were first instructed by the foster mom.

This adventure – imagine J yelling freely around town –“Diamond!”  “Diamond!”  “Where are you Diamond?” – distressed J.  We brought Cindi back home, gathered a leash and treats to lure the wayward doggie but to no avail, on our hour-long hunting expedition.  The entire world of walkers in our village, plus the local authority and social media all knew about Diamond within approximately two hours after her escape. Hopefully this tale will end well and soon.

“We can whine because neighbors have ill-mannered dogs or celebrate because well-behaved dogs have owners that search for lost pups.”  – Cecilia

I know if Cindi got out or went missing, I would want the same fervor of energy to locate, the relentless dedication to rescue, I witnessed today, for her.

After almost, but not quite, four months of being a dog owner/lover, I must concede there is a new range of information, tons of experiences for growth and quite a few stories to tell in this world of companion dogs and their place in our hearts, the free therapy we incur and the mutual devotion that I had no idea existed before sweet soul Cindi.

Happy Paw Prints!