Older Dog Wisdom 16: Exploring the Riches

The other morning we had a repeat of an event that I didn’t think we’d ever see again. Last August, for the first time in his 10 years, Tux, my older male dog, lifted his leg to pee. We were very surprised. I blogged about it on August 31st (http://kaybigelow1.blogspot.com/2010/08/learning-new-tricks-or-what-old-dog-can.html)

This morning, when I let Tux and his sister outside, it was raining. Neither of them was happy about going out in the rain. Tux hadn’t gone more than three feet when he stopped to squat. He looked around and found himself standing next to a bush. Slowly, ever so slowly, his left rear leg came up. It was almost as if he wasn’t in control of his leg and his leg was attached to a string being manipulated by a puppeteer. Or maybe it was that his leg had a mind of its own as if it was exercising some long-lost doggie memory. He had already started to pee when he squatted and the peeing continued as his leg went up. 

I’m not sure who was more surprised - me or Tux. He seemed positively stunned. He got over himself and went deeper into the yard. I continued to stand there wondering what just happened and why. Why, after eight months, had he decided on this morning to lift his leg again?

A couple of hours later, we went to the park. we passed innumerable bushes, but there was no leg lifting. He didn’t even show any interest in the veritable treasure trove of bushes we went by. 

Lesson Learned

Are we humans like that, too? Do we pass up innumerable opportunities without realizing that what we passed by were, indeed, opportunities? Probably. We have something set in our mind about what would make us happy - the right partner or spouse, the right job, or the right friend. When something or someone doesn’t match any of those pictures appears right in front of us, we pass it by because it doesn’t conform to what we have in our minds.

Maybe, like Tux, we really need to come to know that we don’t have to conform. The world won’t fall apart if Tux doesn’t lift his leg and our world won’t fall apart if we stop to explore the unexpected riches put before us.