Me and my shadow
One of the things about owning a dog is that you have this constant shadow beside you. It’s the part I love. In our house the divide amongst our dogs isn’t always clear but Dillon truly is my shadow and Barley is Simon’s. The irony of the colouring of our dogs is not lost on us - Simon is ginger and so is Barley and Dillon is black (close enough to my dark brown hair). These are our shadows and through it all they remain beside us.
I work from home so I’m lucky enough to 24/7 get my shadow next to me. I can be having a crummy time but usually next to me is sat Dillon - well unless he’s on window duty. Many a tense client conversation online has been spent stroking Dillon - it’s really amazing the calming influence this can have on you. I’ve seen dogs used in therapy and I am convinced every office should have one. I don’t have a water cooler or coffee machine to take a break by, I can take time out with my dogs though and that is priceless. Nothing like taking half an hour to go down the meadow and get back into the swing of it, or a 10 minute game of pat me / pat the ball.
Sometimes life sucks that is the way. You may feel like the whole world is against you and then you are reminded of the furry one that doesn’t care about that world’s issues. To them you never have a ‘fat day’, you are never the scum of someone’s client angst - you are their owner and as such the greatest thing since a sausage meat covered kong (well I have yet to put that to the test and having labradors may not be using a good analogy). With one wag and big eye glance the world’s arghness melts. All can be made well with a break with your furries.
Owning a dog can be some stress what with puppydom, teenage angst and other barking madness but the flip-side is a devoted shadow for as long as they live. You really couldn’t ask for more. People come and go but your dog is there throughout. Dillon is turning into my shadow as he grows up more and more each day. I love this part as a dog matures and those months of investing time in them pays off with a companion for their life. Barley despite herself (she likes to give the impression she chooses to be here) has the shadow thing going on. She never fails to comfort in a more subtle way of course to Dillon’s bouncy love - hers is a more refined assurance of a sniffing of your ears. Dillon prefers to attempt to lick your face off or hug you whilst hitting you in the head with his paw.
April 24th, 2007 at 7:02 am
I can safely say that since getting Aspen, my blood pressure has dropped to a more normal level. How can you look into puppy eyes and not feel better? He’s definitely my shadow, but I will catch him snuggling up next to Pete on the couch when it’s naptime. Now, if only we could bring him to work with us….