I don’t mean it’s yours specifically, but it’s the fault of humans generally — and you bear some responsibility, since you happen to be in that group.
I need to remind you that it’s not unprecedented. Since we dogs threw in our lot with your Neanderthal ancestors around 15,000 years ago, messy times have come and gone, in the same way that recession follows progression, flood follows drought and day follows night.
It’s our job to keep being ourselves and keep you grounded until things settle. At least, that’s the way we see it.
Given that things will eventually calm down, as they always do — even if we don’t know exactly when — there are only two ways to deal with the evident mess. One is to hunker down, take cover, keep a low profile and wait it out. This is not the dog way.
The dog way is to welcome the unfathomable promise of a new day — don’t compromise on the fresh smells in the early morning, give chase to the uncatchable hare and don’t pass up a quick nap in the midday sun, out of the southerly breeze.
It means you should never forego a sunrise or an early walk if you are able. Which means you need a dog to drag you out, whatever the weather, like I did with The Boss on Sunday. He doesn’t mind a walk in the rain though — he says he learned a long time ago to never complain about the rain.
It’s been a little late this year but he heard a horticulturalist friend say recently that the average autumn break is in fact around May 15, so maybe it’s not that late after all.
Anyway, the rain didn’t dissuade the campers over the long weekend and they were out on the river, many with nets sitting under floats, trying to catch a cray or two. We could see their camp fire blazing through the light drizzle as we walked; it hadn’t dampened the spirits of either their kids or their dogs.
Someone had sent The Boss the latest Gretchin Rubin book, The Secrets of Adulthood — a collection of aphorisms — and while she was compiling it, she came across this one: Choose the bigger life. She pondered on that — and then went out and bought a dog.
“It’s the reason I put up with you, General,” he smirked.
But of course, he knows I’m keeping him alive longer. I keep him moving, for a start — and the latest studies say exercising with your dog amplifies your mood-boost, compared to doing it alone. People with dogs are four times more likely to get the recommended 2.5 hours of aerobic exercise each week — and 14 times more likely to report walking for recreation and lower blood pressure.
Research say that a dog’s social support lowers stress levels for owners, boosts immune response as well as recovery from heart events, and even leads to less sleep problems — probably because we exhaust you, but there you go.
Now, we know from the “quest for company” during the COVID dog love-in that dogs aren’t for everybody. Cats reportedly can have similar effects — but I can’t imagine how. Either way, there is no point wasting time hiding while the world convulses a little. Choose the bigger life. Woof!
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