What can I say? Those of you who have lost beloved non-human companions (the description “pet” just doesn’t come close to describing such relationships) know the sort of pain I attempted to express in my newly awakened method. (Could have made a full length feature out of all the photos and video, but I suspicion the 2+ minutes will suffice to make the point.) I’ve wanted to write about this for a while but it’s just still a bit raw. Perhaps such situations will always remain so. It was a very long goodbye.

Well, that’s it for now. Later, Lew (Liz crashed a while ago…..lol)

Hey, hope you accepted the above the way it was intended.  Here are a couple of after thoughts about a very emotional subject for some of us.

You know, I truly believe our long term canine companions eventually become service dogs without any formal training associated with traditional “service dogs (animals)”.   Sure I could teach her to pickup things I drop, but that would be more like a full time job.  Her penchant seems to be for “memory jogging” and schedule assistance” – lol.    Seriously, why do I believe this?  It’s called routine.  Our “non human companions” are (and not just canines – any conditioned animal) very discerning and attentive about their structured environment (aren’t we all?).   When certain things happen, at certain times, for particular reasons a series of learned/programmed responses are presented to us as a result.    I casually pick up my sunglasses, Liz response:  “Oh boy!  We’re going outside! Where’s my ball?”; tune to a particular program on the television response: recognizes the normal routine and she doesn’t interrupt – until the commercial.  This can be a problem when we have conflicting ideas of what needs to be accomplished during commercials.

Then there’s all those environmental “clues” of situational awareness that we as humans are often oblivious to due to our limited sensory acuity.  I read a dog training book once that stated the sense of smell for canines can be anywhere between 10,000 to 100,000 times greater than ours, which would obviously explain why Liz will suddenly wake from sound sleep, “soft woof notice” something is amiss and instantly stick that nose straight up in the air move her head from side to side to identify the scent direction, then start barking and DEMAND to be let outside.

I have unfortunately, as many of you may have likely done in the past as well, inappropriately chastised my canine companions for doing what they are instinctively meant to do – alert that there is potential danger to her “family/flock”.   I’ve noticed with Liz that if I praise her for “alerting me” (about something I often have no idea what it might be) she stops barking because her job was completed to her satisfaction apparently because I ACKNOWLEDGED HER EFFORTS.  Of course this doesn’t work all the time especially with more threatening (or exciting) situations where she “takes a stand” (cornered Rattlesnake, Raccoon, etc.) and refuses to obey (not good, but understandable) which frequently requires a  “field trip” on my part to the location to assess, correct/ameliorate and dismiss her from further duty – but always with well earned praise.

Heck, even poor old Tara towards the end of that dreaded disease and relegated to her homemade mobile “care bed” in the great room, hoarsely (and weakly) managed to bark that something was wrong – waking  us from sleep one night.  Yup – bar-b-que malfunction with a resulting small fire.  Out of the ordinary = sound the alarm (with the best the poor girl could muster – almost a whispered ghost of a life-tired bark.  Crap.  There go the water works again.

Though nothing to do with the above example, when I think of the mistakes I have made with prior companions because of MY FAILURE TO APPRECIATE WHAT THEY KNEW AT THE TIME, it breaks my heart knowing they were only trying to “educate me” as to what they were smelling, seeing, and/or doing due to my incorrect concept of “proper training”, ie, focusing on just obeying commands while remaining ignorant as to the actual nature and circumstances of the incident giving rise to the companion’s disobedience.  A big mistake by the one who is supposed to be in charge.  (So your dog bolts out of the house and chases a cat and will not obey commands to stop and come back.  You call and call, finally the dog returns (generally huffing and puffing and exhausted from the chase) – but if you scold it for running after the cat in the first place (totally forgotten by now in all the excitement) – you are accidentally punishing them for (in their eyes) returning when you called.  See what I mean?   (DOG: “Geez, it was more fun chasing the cat.  I heard the command, eventually obeyed and returned and what do I get as a reward? – Yelled at for returning when that old bastard called me!”)

[Can you imagine punishing a canine in a “disabled canine wheeled cart” for chasing a cat up the cul-de-sac?  I didn’t have the heart – and was astonished with the success of the apparatus.  Scared the heck out of me too —  way to fast on her first “wheeling” lesson!   But you must understand, that cat had been coming over the fence and nonchalantly walking around TARA’S COMPOUND leaving “territorial markers” everywhere because it knew Tara was immobile and could only bark from a stationary position.  Then one day…….it was worth every penny it cost to see Tara wheeling up the street in “semi-hot pursuit”.   (OF COURSE THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY TARA COULD HAVE CAUGHT THE CAT, NOR WOULD I HAVE PERMITTED SUCH, but there was an extra biscuit for my Canine Cart Tara!  And you know?….It did reduce the amount of feline excursions into Tara’s domain.  lol]

 

We are all animals and learn from our mistakes.

Yes it is difficult losing a beloved companion and obtaining another CERTAINLY DOES NOT REPLACE that love for your former best friend but I believe it does permit a healing of sorts by providing another environment and encouraging a similar type of love, caring, and devotion for another animal.    And because we do generally outlive our companions, if our hearts remain open for that (likely) inevitable loss once again, we can enhance that new growing relationship with what we have learned in the past from our other wonderful non human partners.  Of course, it permits committing some of the same mistakes again also.  Case in point:  two morning biscuits are now the “norm” because of innovative successful “canine pleadings” for an extra one every once in a while.  LOL

Liz a good dog and there will be “give and takes” in every relationship.  I’ve spent too much time indoors lately but she has been extremely tolerant and understanding.   (Here’s a humorous observation –  when creating the monthly meeting videos and she hears a particular GM’s voice over the computer speakers going on and on about how for just a little more money such and such can be done….. she gets a look like “great, another week of this Krapa”.)    She’s very intuitive also.

Yup.  Need to get outside today, (even though extremely smoky again) I think Liz has a Possum carcass she’d like us both to roll around on for a while– evidently, her 100,000 times keener sense of smell has picked up on something we just must acquire and wear on our bodies.  Maybe to the next LDPCSD meeting?   lol

 

My best to you and yours, Lew