Updated lessons from my furry friend (May 2024)

Leave your mark - As I was wiping the stove today, and finding dog hair upon it (??), I thought of another lesson from Shyann. Leave a mark, maybe a legacy even. Her dog bed certainly has her mark upon it, and dirt from past adventures. The broader life lesson is really two parts. One, leave your own legacy, but also appreciate that everyone wants to be remembered and think that their life made a difference. Can you tell someone today the difference they made in your life? I’ll miss cleaning dog hair off the stove as a reminder of Shyann and the joy she gave us.

The American car manufacturers have created a mantra about how desirable it is to go from “0-60”, really fast. Shyann has shown the ability to go from “60-0”, really fast. We will return from a vigorous run or a hike and she can be down and out-of-it in very short order. This is in contrast to me, after a stressful city council meeting, I’m awake for another couple hours trying to “decompress”. I think the message is, A quiet mind is untroubled.

I have a vague memory of the moment my nephew captured this picture above. Shyann was looking at another dog in my neighbor’s yard, or a toy, or a blade of grass. Around her a dinner party with lots of people was taking place with plenty of noises and smells, but at this exact moment, she was just in the moment, not distracted. She is a master of being in the moment.

Be patient, wait for others…I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Shyann look like this. It typically is when I’m hiking with my awesome wife Carol and Shyann and I have gotten ahead and Carol is out of sight. That is a big no-no in her world. The pack stays together, always. This is a lesson a lot of people have internalized in our charge political environment, the pack stays together, always. But that’s not the lesson I gain from this, it is that sometimes the right thing to do (all the time?) is to wait for others. The pressure should be on you to be patient, not on them to catch up.

There are so many lessons one could glean from this picture. Cheddar cheese is awesome and I want some now. Practicing the “wait” command is really, really hard! Perspective is important. Is this piece of cheese really bigger than Shyann? Sharing is caring! Since I already suggested Shyann has taught the importance of perspective, I’d say, while begging is not a desirable characteristic in your “well-behaved” pet…you definitely don’t get things in life unless you make your desires known. So, perhaps the lesson is to make your desires known, it’s the only way to be heard. As an aside, sometimes we have to speak up for those who are not able to do so on their own behalf.