Unconditional love
This one goes for dogs in general. It does not matter what you do, they will always come back to you and love you. Whenever Zeus gets in the garbage and my dad catches him, after his punishment, Zeus will follow my dad around for the longest time… almost like begging for forgiveness! Dogs show us unconditional love through all of our flaws, mistakes, and just quirks that make us, us. I can dance around to any song, tell stupid songs only I find funny, and sing at the top of my lunges to a song that I made up… and guess what? My dogs never judge me. (Well, let’s be honest they might… but they don’t show it at least!!) They show me love for who I am and don’t try to change me.
You really can be an a-hole… people will forgive you!
Haha, this one goes for my Bubba. He is the sweetest little thing you will ever meet, but Bubba does what Bubba wants to do. If he is sitting somewhere and you want him to come to you, he won’t come. When my dad is comfortably sitting on the couch with his laptop, Bubba will come over and sit on hit… right where the laptop was. And will he move? Nope. He steals Zeus’ bones from him, and gets really jealous when Zeus plays with another dog or person. It is hilarious, but hey! It is what makes Bubba… Bubba!
Get excited for the little things
One of the biggest things I look forward to everyday is walking inside my house. Usually when I come home I scream “BOYSSSS!!!” then I usually see Bubba and Zeus trot out of my room wagging their entire bodies because they are so excited to see me! On occasion, Bub will be sitting on the top of the couch, looking over the banister so he can see out the window on the door… that is adorable to see as well. They get excited for back scratches, playing with a freaking ball, and eating. Well, eating doesn’t really count because if you know me, you know how excited I get for food…. Hahaha. One of the biggest things I miss is coming home to let Piper out of her crate. My sister moved to Georgia this past summer, so I don't see Piper daily like I used to. Piper would run circles, bark, and run up and give you kisses for nearly 10 minutes before she would calm down. But anyways, they have shown me that getting excited for anything and everything is worth it. It brings positivity and happiness into your life.
Sometimes, you don’t even need to talk. People like your presence.
Sometimes, when I am alone with someone and there isn’t a word being said I’m thinking “this is so awkward!” But, why? Sometimes, silence is nice. It is nice when you can have a good time with someone, or even comfort them without even saying a single word. Whenever I am in a bad mood or just lose it, I hug Zeus. He is the biggest comfort to me. Just being able to hug him while I am upset immediately makes me feel even the slightest bit better.
Puppy dog eyes REALLY work!
Yes, yes they do… on me at least… ESPECIALLY FROM MY PIPER GIRL. I am in the midst of mastering the puppy dog eyes.
You are enough without even trying
Some people try too hard to be accepted by people and society in general, when in reality, by being yourself you are enough. You are beautiful, creative, fun, and adventurous IN YOUR OWN WAY. You don’t need to try to be something you’re not because there are people out there that love the real you.
Enjoy the things that you have now, because you won’t have it forever.
Piper moved to Georgia, as I mentioned earlier. I went from going to steal her from my sister whenever I wanted to, to being lucky to get to see her twice in one year. I didn't think I would miss her as much as I do. Zeus turns 13 this year. When Zeus was 8 he had an emergency surgery to remove a tumor in his spleen… We weren’t even sure he was going to make it out of surgery. Luckily the tumor was benign. Look at him now, nearly 5 years later. He is getting old and I know that. Until my grandma died I honestly didn’t think that it was possible for someone to die. And I know that sound ridiculous, but there has never been a death before my grandma (in my life). After grandma passed, I realized that it happens. That is life. We don’t live forever and unfortunately dogs have a short lifespan. I have known Zeus for over half my life and when he passes it is going to be difficult to grasp for me. That is why I need to enjoy the moments that I have now with him. Times when he takes up 80% of the bed and I fall asleep petting him, times when I can’t pay attention to homework because he is nudging me with his nose, and also not being able to take a shower alone because he likes to lay in the bathroom and wait for me. He is my best friend and losing a best friend is hard, but I am trying hard to cherish every single moment I have with him, while I still have him.
Be happy and don’t have regrets
This is so much easier said than done, but if could actually live this way, we would have much better lives. Dogs don’t even care about what happen 20 minutes ago, much less 5 years ago. Stop regretting everything that you haven’t done in life and go out there and do it. If you want something bad enough, you will do it. I’m a firm believer in that. You have the potential to do absolutely anything with your life and the beauty of it is that it is never to late to be something that you always wanted to be. I think this is probably the biggest lesson that we can learn from dogs.
My dogs have truly changed my life and anyone who knows me know that I have an obsession with my dogs. I talk to them daily, cuddle with them every night, and I treat them like they are real human beings. They have no idea what they have done for me, and they never will. Maybe that is what is so beautiful about all of this… They don’t even realize that they have changed my entire life. They live every single day with no regrets and they are happy, daily. Change your outlook and you will change your entire life. Go be what you want to be and stop living a limited life that only you are enabling.
Change today & celebrate tomorrow.