You Get What You Give April 5, 2013

Four months ago, it was just an idea. I was playing in the snow with my mom and she smiled the most beautiful smile and it came to me. I want to find a way to make more people smile like that.  A few days later, I began my blogging journey on a quest to share joy: from the ground up with whoever needed it. While I obviously hoped that my joy would reach people, I nearly fell out of my little doggie bed when I got my first couple of followers. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there,” as Teddy Roosevelt said.

Today, I celebrate you, my inspiration, my supporters, my friends. The blogosphere has brought to life the words of Ronald Reagan who once said “we can’t help everyone but everyone can help someone.” What a powerful impact we can have through simplicity. What a blessing to be able to be the difference we want to see in the world. Dear blogging world. You’ve been so good to me. While I set out to share my joy with the world, I did not expect the joy you would share with me.

Thank you especially to Kuruk, Lissa and Lisa who have most recently nominated me for the Versatile and Very Inspiring Blog awards. Both types of awards make a similar suggestion to include seven facts about yourself and then paw forward the appreciation to other inspirational bloggers.

Getting to Know Me

1) I recently got a new collar that says Rescued on it. It might be my new favorite thing.

2) I don’t bark, except when animals (live or animated) appear on the television.

3) I believe in being the change I want to see in the world. Change starts in the mind, but it lives in the heart.

4) I purr like a cat when I’m getting an especially nice scratch in the right place.

5) Little people are wise beyond their years if you ask me.

6) I own a more than one doggie Packer jersey.

7) My favorite place to sleep is right between my mom and dad in my forever home.

I learn something new every day and a lot of that is thanks to the relationships I’ve been fortunate enough to have in the blogosphere. Again, I mean no disrespect to those who nominated me in doing this, but I nominate you – reader and supporter of my blog for these awards. There are so many deserving partners who inspire me on a daily basis with their words, commentary and friendship. Thank you all for being you.

Four months ago, I had no idea who you were, and now I consider each and every one of you a valuable part of my life. “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle,” suggested Buddha, “and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

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Young at Heart February 9, 2013

Every now and then I will be at the dog park or on a walk through the neighborhood and I hear it. Four seemingly unimportant people words strung together in a beautiful sentence that makes my heart smile. “What a cute puppy!” It goes the same way every time: mom corrects the person by telling him or her that I’m actually full grown and I wag my tail incessantly until the person kneels down to pet me. The truth is, I love the attention almost as much as the compliment. I may be a mutt to some people, but what is in a name?

You see, there is something about us canines you need to know. From Pomeranian to Great Dane, that playful puppy we once were is always a part of us. Puppyhood wasn’t always easy for my two brothers and I, but my birth mom always had a way of making even the littlest events seem special. I remember our one-month birthday like it was yesterday.

My birth mom had made a pretty nice home for us with decent shelter from the elements and I was so worried because she was gone for a really long time that day. Boy, did she have a surprise for us when she got home! She had spent the day relentlessly scavenging through garbage can after garbage can to find us the perfect dinner, and she did not disappoint. She finally returned to us (after finding what I can only assume must have been the garbage can of a very upscale restaurant) holding in her mouth the most beautiful steak we had ever seen. Sure, it was not that great for our puppy diets eating whole food like that, but it made us all feel special sharing such decadence.

I look back on that night often, as it wasn’t long after that when we all got separated and I found myself longing for family. Longing for home. It would be another two people years before my people brought me into my forever home, and it may as well have been a lifetime. But my puppy-like state of mind helped carry me through the hardest of times. Life through a puppy’s eyes is scary, but I prefer to see it as exciting. Everything looks and smells new, and the world is such a big place yet to be explored. When you’re a puppy, you spend your time primarily playing, eating and sleeping. What could be better than that?

I can’t say I completely agree with Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, who claimed “youth is wasted on the young.” No sir. I’m much more in line with former American president Theodore Roosevelt. “Old age is like everything else,” Roosevelt said. “To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.”

That’s why I feel such a sense of joy when people mistake me for a puppy. The best thing about childhood is making the early decision to never grow up.