Posted on 11/30/2024 7:29:48 AM PST by MtnClimber
During this Thanksgiving week, some will say – that the year has been unkind, with losses too high, worries too many, friends too few, days too cold, not enough new, and growing old. Banish those thoughts, here and now. Think afresh about how – lucky we are.
Charles Schultz used to pen his Peanuts cartoons, Snoopy always the happy one, never more than at Thanksgiving, that irrepressibly grateful, humble, quick-to-wag dog.
Truth is, my own drawings are bad, so you will find no witty things under nicely sketched cartoon kids or dogs, but I have one – a happy dog. And like Snoopy, he teaches gratitude.
Teaches? Yes, in a manner of speaking. Like Snoopy, he does not know what he does not know, defaults to wagging, perpetually happy, eager to be patted, fed, and let run.
Snoopy would say, in Schultz’s way, “Happiness is being with friends … sharing … a side dish of French fries … a long nap … dancing in the rain …” My dog would get it. He eats blueberries – in summer, carefully pulls them from the low bushes.
He looks for the best in visitors, sometimes daydreams and ponders paddling ducks, sure he could catch them, his one flop ear saying, “aw shucks.” He is a protector, a touch of Tom Sawyer, loves adventure and is non-judgmental – except about the talkative parakeet.
Dogs know what they know, nothing more, yet are grateful. Snoopy reminds us: “Keep looking up, that’s the secret of life” and “Be yourself, no one can say you are doing it wrong.”
Says Snoopy, the quintessential dog: “I don’t have time to worry about who doesn’t like me, I’m too busy loving the people who love me” and “There’s no sense in doing a lot of barking … if you don’t really have anything to say.” Wisdom.
“Quite often lately, I have the feeling I don’t know what’s going on,” Snoopy observes, then trots on, wagging, indifferent to everyone’s anxiety. Or this dog nugget: “We only die once. We live every day.” Accurate, laconic, prescriptive.
Closer to home, my dog is perpetually happy, reminding me to be happy – and grateful for everything, especially him. He does not know he beat cancer this year – fully. He does not know a creative veterinarian gave him years. He does not know he gets soft food with intention, not dry, more appreciated. He does not ask why.
Like Snoopy, my dog lingers at my feet and looks up with love and laughter in his eyes, beyond grateful, lovable, dashing, and playful, he gives an air of being wise. He has no time for TV, every moment is to seize, his pointer’s leg up on walks, nose to the breeze.
He knows nothing about the world, but is happy – invariably grateful. And that is the point: We know far more and know the balance is good. We know beauty in each sunrise and promise in each day. We know the sunset’s glow, understand refraction, and God’s gifts.
Where my dog is simple, untroubled by worry, except for chasing chipmunks, we are people. We know we have countless things to be grateful for, family, friends, art, a book, the sweet satisfaction of choosing food, and what we cook. We have speech and prayer, traditions and work, know what we believe, and awake each day with something to achieve.
We have the power to recall memories and choose what we elevate. We have choices, we can grab coffee, tackle what lies ahead, or stay in bed. We have opposable thumbs, swim in an ocean of opportunities, and do not live in a cloister; the world is our oyster.
Not so a dog. Yet there he is, grateful to be alive, secure at my feet, getting attention, then running to exhaustion, panting and wagging, and looking up as if to say, “What a day!”
We awake with a chance to help others, make the day purposeful, help someone overcome something, get closer to their dream, settle their heart, listen, and soothe.
We can choose how we live each day, choose to forgive, make a call, help someone manage an unmanageable pile, give them a reason to laugh, rest, and offer a smile.
These things all lie in our power, no matter age, health, religion, strife, or complexity of life. We are given the gift of giving, the gift of purpose. Dogs do not have it, yet they are happy.
We have so many gifts to be thankful for, freedoms not known to most, a chance to see the world from our living room, or to travel, speak, sing, and pray. We can be creative, paint, write, garden, puzzle, use words and numbers, and in a thousand ways shine – unlike a canine.
Bottom line: My dog, like Snoopy, is somehow always happy. Schultz was onto something. It was this. If dogs can be happy, default to gratitude, grateful for what they see, so can we.
So sorry to hear that.
I waited 50 years to get another dog after our beloved Cairn Terrier Corky went over the Rainbow Bridge.
Don’t be like me.
My condolences. It’s like losing a best friend.
Mine too.
Tudorfly ~ It’s like losing a best friend.
In some ways worse. In one minor way, no one says 'It's just a best friend', and there are so many others. We'd get glimpses of Corky for years afterwards, it was both comforting and sad.
As soon as we get relocated permanently to our rural property and get the fence up were getting a couple of Anatolian Shepherds. Our Chihuahua Coco will whip them into line within a week. 😆
what do you get when you spell dog backwards...
Thanks for the photo. Looks like a happy dog.
I enjoyed my little Jack Russell Terrier so much, but both of us got old & she didn’t make it...as of about a year & a half ago. First it was my wife & later in life my beloved little Sweetie. I guess I first got too old to enjoy our little walks together. It was & is hard for me to walk any distince. Now I feel I am too old to get annother dog & take proper care of it, but I will always love the dear little critter & the times we all had together. So that is how I lost 2 best friends.
You will always have your memories of both to cherish. Your wife likely gave you unconditional love. As did your dog. Hold both close in your heart. In that way they are both still with you.
Have you accepted Jesus as your savior? Doing so will improve your life and provide you your best opportunity to be with your bride again.
And I take some comfort knowing that Dog is simply God spelled backwards. God bless you.
I still get blurry eyed just re-reading it.
EXIT FORTY-FOUR ~ LIVE LIFE LIKE A DOG
Rupert certainly had a rough day. His faithful dog Caleb, a fourteen-year-old Labrador, had to be put down. It seems that time had caught up with the old fellow and his organs were failing. Sadly, the veterinarian could do nothing to stop the fatal decline and recommended immediate euthanasia. So it was done. And at the end of the day, a grief-stricken Rupert lay down his head to sleep.
In his sleep, Rupert was comforted by one of God’s angels, who exclaimed to the saddened soul that Caleb was well and very happy sitting at the side of the Lord. With despondency in his voice, Rupert professed that he would be sad without his companion and asked the angel why God had given dogs such a brief life.
The aura around the angel brightened as he softly answered Rupert, “My child, your own soul came to God’s Earth to learn of unconditional love, and how it can bring you the blessings of a good life. But dogs already love unconditionally. They have no lessons to learn, but only lessons to impart. And Caleb has done so with you now. You know that in your heart. So his need here is complete.” Just as the angel began to fade from his dream, Rupert remarked, “I will miss him dearly. Without him, I’m not sure how I’ll live.”
“Rupert!” the angel quickly replied. “Have you learned nothing from him? You’ll live just as Caleb lived. You’ll give love deeply. You’ll expect and appreciate being loved by others. You’ll live brave, yet kind, and have a humble and simple existence. Yes, you’ll live as sweet Caleb did, Rupert. You’ll live life like a dog.”
What our souls can learn from our faithful companions:
~ Love unconditionally.
~ Be forever faithful and loyal.
~ Never pretend to be someone you’re not.
~ When your loved one comes home, run to greet them with joy.
~ Appreciate attention from others and let their touch thrill you.
~ If what you want is buried, don’t stop digging until you find it.
~ Find peace in the simple joy of a long walk.
~ Take every opportunity to go for a joyride.
~ Let the fresh air and wind in your face be pure bliss.
~ When you’re happy, dance and wag your entire body.
~ Run, romp, and play every day.
~ Delight in taking naps.
~ Stretch before rising.
~ On warm days, just lie back for a while in the grass.
~ On hot days, lie back for a while under a shady tree.
~ Never bite when a purposeful growl will suffice.
And most importantly,
~ When someone you love is having a bad day, sit close, be silent, and gently nuzzle them.
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Why not do your best now to live life like a dog?
Sorry, that is so painful!
The pain and loss of losing our beloved pets is so raw, most of us understand this unique loss in our lives, you are not alone in your grief. Prayers up for you.
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