Semantically driven

  • Home
  • About
    • Privacy policy
    • Archives
      • Reviews & Giveaways
  • Photography
    • Project 365
  • Contact me
You are here: Home / Archives for dogs

A dog’s purpose

February 15, 2012 by Jen

Monty

This was sent to me via email so I’m guessing it’s done a lot of email rounds but it’s too good not to share here too.

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker ‘s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.

Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ”I know why.”

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.

He said,”People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?” The Six-year-old continued,

”Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.”

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you’re not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!!!

Monty & Jules at Carrickalinga

I’m participating in Wordless Wednesday today. I know this is SO not wordless, but it’s so worth it!

Submit to StumbleUponShare on Tumblr Share

Of shoes and dogs

October 17, 2011 by Jen

Cobra tattoo. Day 319/365.

Saturday, 8 October 2011, Day 319/365.

I had to take my son to buy some shoes. He goes through a pair of sneakers every two months. He only really has the one pair of shoes and this is how long they last.

Am I alone in this? I just buy him cheap shoes because I’ve bought more expensive sneakers and they don’t seem to last any longer than the cheap ones.

They usually fall apart at the seams, or he wears holes in the bottom. It’s annoying.

After I bought him a new pair of shoes he got the tattoo pictured above. I couldn’t convince him not to get a snake and it’s kind of fitting as he was born in the Chinese year of the snake.

Dogs at the beach. Day 320/365.

Sunday, 9 October 2011, Day 320/365.

I love looking at how dogs interact when off the lead. My dog (14 years old) still goes up to sniff other dogs but isn’t that interested in playing. I swear she thinks she’s human. She’ll have a sniff of a dog and then wander off.

If a dog wants to get too playful she’ll either ignore them or give them a growl to let them know she’s not interested.

The two dogs pictured above (The Surfer’s pup on the left, and a dog he met on the right) are both quite young and they just played with each other. The pup will run up to all dogs to say hallo and see if they want to play. He’s got so much energy, it’s tiring to watch.

It’s good to see him have fun at the beach off the lead and learn to interact with other dogs though. It’s very rare that another dog will be annoyed with him but that’s the beauty of dogs, they let you know. He’s been lucky not to have been in any fights yet.

Submit to StumbleUponShare on Tumblr Share

In memorium

February 10, 2009 by Jen

Poppers

A year and a half ago I wrote about Poppers (in the picture above) because he looks a lot like our dog Monty. His owner Hazel emailed me last week to tell me that they’d had to put Poppers down.

I can only imagine how she felt when this had to happen because I’m dreading the day I may have to do the same with Monty and I know I’ll be devastated.

His mum Hazel said:

“Poppers was “probably 11″ when we got him from the local rescue centre near Northampton in April 2006 but no-one seemed to know for sure. He’d been kicked at least once (probably more often) and had been waiting in the centre for four years before we adopted him.

I think, to be honest, he just gave up. He didn’t seem to be in much pain but he didn’t like the cold weather. He slipped on the ice a couple of times which made him very wary about going out through his flap into the garden. And the ignomy of ending up doing the business in the house was even worse.

My husband and I were both with him at the end – he just went quietly to sleep and that was it.

Yes, of course I’m sad but he had a wonderful time with us and we were lucky to have him even if for a shorter time than we would have liked.”

Poppers – here’s to you and I’m so glad you spent the last few years of your life with a loving family.

While I’m on the subject of animals I can’t not mention all the displaced animals from the Victorian bushfires, and all the dead ones. The human toll is talked about constantly – now up in the high 100s – and the animal one is around 10,000 according to wildlife experts. And the animals that are left have nothing much to eat. It’s pretty hard to even contemplate. I’m at a loss for words really. Apparently about $57 million has been raised and there are many people doing other things like donating blood and clothes etc to help out. People always come through in really tough situations like this. It’s good to see.

Update: Money can also be donated to Wildlife Victoria to help out the animals. Also have a look at koala Sam the survivor.

Last but not least, as this as an in memorium post, it’s one year ago today that my cousin was killed in a car accident. Not much more to say really.

Submit to StumbleUponShare on Tumblr Share

Old and young

November 30, 2008 by Jen

Jemma

Recently my sister’s dog had a short stay at our house. She’s not even one year old yet and our Monty is an old girl. I knew it would be an interesting time. Sure enough, when Jemma arrived, Monty barked at her for the first hour.

Barking

Jemma being the young and energetic one wanted to play with Monty but Monty’s a bit too old and grumpy for that now. She just wants to lie down and/or follow her humans around, not be annoyed by the young pup.

Jemma hassling Monty

There were a few growls, but overall they managed with each other. Apparently Jemma slept for the whole day after my sister picked her up and I’ll bet Monty did too.

Submit to StumbleUponShare on Tumblr Share

Popular posts

  • Things I love about him (8)
  • All consuming heat
  • Learning to read while sleeping?
  • The golden age of parenting
  • Anti-climax
  • Talking the talk
  • Life goes in in Big Brother
  • Savouring the season(s)
  • Sore knees
  • Mothering on

Looking for something?

Categories

My photos

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in