Humans are not the sharpest cheese on the cracker

Bloganuary writing prompt

If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?

View all responses

I’ve loved animals since I was a kid. For the first 10 years of my life, I wanted to be a zoologist. And although I eventually decided to pursue a different career path, my love for animals has never waned.

I love most pets but have a special soft spot for dogs, as I grew up with them since I was young. We had dogs on our farm. I still laugh when I remember my grandma smuggling bites of food to the dogs under the table, thinking that no one would have noticed, because we were not supposed to do that. I am fortunate to have a husband who shares my love for dogs and friends who are all dog lovers, all of them have been pampering dogs for generations.

Dogs can teach us so many wonderful things about life, and each dog has its own lessons for us. No two dog personalities are the same, and neither are our bonds with them. My first dog was named Blacky. He was a poodle-whatever mix and I remember the day when I brought him home from the shelter very well. He was older -age unknown- and a bit on the stubborn side, as I quickly found out.

On our first walk, I let him off the leash when we arrived at the park. Naive as only the youth can be, I thought he deserved to run free after months in a shelter and he ran as fast as he could -and as far away as he could. He came back, circled around me -wide circles may I add- and took off again. He enjoyed his new-found freedom and I enjoyed watching him. Then, when it was time to go home, I grabbed the leash, and called his name and he ignored me. He looked at me, with wise eyes, almost like he had pity with the young girl who just gave him his freedom back. I called, but he ignored me. I walked toward him, and he walked further away. I ran toward him, and he ran further away. He kept the same distance between us and after about an hour or two, I gave up.

I knew I should have kept him on the leash, and I feared that the former shelter dog would soon be a shelter dog again. Somebody would find him, he would be captured and would end up in a shelter again.

I waved goodbye, turned around, and walked back to my apartment. When I reached the end of the park I turned around, and to my surprise, there was the old dog, close by -but keeping the same distance.

By then I lived in Vienna, Austria, and the rest of the way home would not be an easy one. There were streets to cross and lots of traffic. People on the sidewalks, people on bikes and we had to pass by restaurants and a grocery store.

Almost like he could sense my concern, Blacky came closer and a voice inside me whispered, “Do not try to get him on the leash,” and I listened. We crossed the first busy street, then the second. I told him to hurry, and he did, but never got too close. We passed by the stores and then we arrived at the entry door of the apartment building where I lived. I unlocked the door, opened it, and held it open, actually, I kinda hit behind it and he walked in. When I closed the door behind him, Blacky turned and looked at me. He wasn’t scared, he wanted to be here. I walked up the stairs and he followed me to my apartment, he didn’t hesitate and came right in.

That night I convinced him to take a bath and cut his fur, and the old dog the shelter had described to me as a bit ‘moody’ or perhaps even ‘grumpy’ let me do all this.

We both slept well the first night. I think we were both exhausted.

He died unexpectedly three years later from sudden and acute health problems. That all happened so long ago, yet not a month goes by that I don’t think about how grateful I am to have had him in my life and for all the lessons he taught me. The three years with him were remarkable, we were quite a team.

I’m grateful to Blacky for many reasons, but just to name a few…

We had an undeniable bond. The three years we had each other, were filled with activities. He could easily register when I was having a bad day or when I felt sick, and he brought me his favorite squeaky toy (because if it made him so happy, it should cheer me up too). Blacky offered such camaraderie, especially when I studied at home. On our days off, I took him anywhere dogs were allowed and back then they were allowed everywhere in Europe -still are. We went to coffee houses and restaurants, and we went on outdoor adventures, went for walks in the park, rode the bike, and went hiking in the mountains. I went skiing and I told him to stay down at the lift and wait for me, and he did.

We drove eight hours straight to visit friends in Germany, and he went with me on vacation when I explored the South of Italy. We went everywhere together and crossed many borders.

He was my best friend and I was his. He was hardly on the leash, he showed me trust and I gave it back to him. Pampering and caring for him was a central part of my life, but I loved doing it because I loved him so much.

Blacky kept me active, present, and playful. He taught me that time is never wasted if you walk slowly and hang out in the park for hours. I was a busy student, working two jobs to make ends meet (he came with me to one) but Blacky made me slow down and he taught me to be present. Because of him, I needed to go outside three times a day at least.

We walked and played for hours every day. At home, we played hide-and-seek and tug-of-war. Outside, we wandered forever around the neighborhood or a park, we sat under trees and watched squirrels, we read books (I read he listened), and we relaxed. We went swimming together. Blacky taught me that I don’t always have to be productive.

So many years -and dogs- after Blacky and I still feel the same way. Our pets are special and they teach us so much more than we could ever show them.

I spoil my dogs and will continue to encourage others to do the same. Blacky may not have needed a blanket on my bed but he deserved it. And while he may no longer be here, I honored him by spoiling all of our dogs the same way and will continue to do so. Forty years later, he is present in my memory like it all happened yesterday.

Back then as a student, Blacky gave me immense purpose. I was alone, my grandma had passed away and I didn’t have family, yet I didn’t feel alone. Should I confess that my first solo Christmas in Vienna with Blacky is one of my fondest memories, or would that make me sound silly?

Should I mention that I ate my dinner in the bathroom, while sitting on the toilet lid because he had been put on a yogurt-rice diet for a few days and I didn’t want to be cruel -yet still enjoy my pork chop.

Later on in life, as a married childless woman, caring for dogs is where much of my love, attention, and caring energy goes. I treat my dogs like my children and always consider them my fur babies. Maybe that’s why I ended up doing charity work as well because an old dog taught me how to care?

I learned so much from my first dog and still continue to learn to this day from the dogs we have now. Yes, they require a lot of training, but let’s be honest, they train us more than we train them.

I often wonder what Blacky thought of me as a pet owner. I assume he snickered often inside and must have shaken his head often because I didn’t understand so many things at first. Maybe that’s why all dogs shake their heads so intensely and so often?

If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?

I would ask our pets to understand that we might not always be the sharpest cheese on the cracker. Be patient with us, please.