As Dog is My Witness

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but can a new dog teach its human an old trick? I think mine did just last week.

Since Katy, our gorgeous little pit bull mix, came to live with us last June, she has spent her nights in a spacious crate. She gets the security of being tucked away in her personal space at bedtime, and we get the security of knowing she’s not wandering around the house at night doing gawd-knows-what to the carpet.

But last week, Katy made a decision to not sleep in her crate any more. She’s almost 18 months old now, and apparently has determined she can be trusted to sleep on a doggy pillow on the floor. There was no warning for her decision; she didn’t discuss it with any family member. But four nights ago, when the crate door was opened for her to get to bed, she simply refused to go in, exhibiting the stubbornness for which pit bulls are known. Now, before you jump on the pit bull hysteria wagon, please don’t get me wrong. She didn’t go all Cujo on us…everyone in the house still has 10 fingers and toes. She didn’t put up a fight about her decision. It’s just that no amount of coaxing could get her to change her mind. She just gave us her best pleading face until we relented. If you love pit bulls like I do, you know how adorable they can be when they set their minds to it. So that night, Katy slept on her pillow all night long without any accidents at all, and has been doing so every night since. She seems so proud to be a grown-up dog and to have outgrown her puppy-ish ways.

And what did I learn from all this? Well, sometimes you have to trust yourself to try something new. Occasionally you have to convince someone that you’re ready for such a change, and that when you do, you’d better not give anyone any reason to doubt your decision or their willingness to put faith in you. Take a risk every once in a while. Try something you’ve always dreamed about. And be prepared to fight for your right to grow a little.

So, given my new dog-given wisdom, I’ve signed up for a camera workshop at the local film school. I’m making concrete plans to take the leap back into freelance writing. And I’m going to be open to all of life’s lessons, no matter where they come from.

Maybe it’s a sign that I’m getting old. I'm aware of the fact that life is finite, and perhaps I'm attaching significance to each remaining moment. I'll admit, I find myself looking for messages in every little thing that happens to me each day. But I’m grateful for the opportunity to be receptive to each new moment and to listen to my heart when it tells me what I really want to do. Knowing that I’m lucky enough to have the resources to make such changes in my life helps me and Katy both sleep a lot better.