This morning, a neighborhood cat left a dead mouse next to my car.
It was a thoughtful gesture of appreciation, since we prepared food daily for Pat the cat – our unisex name for him, and no, I’m not going to get personal with Pat to find the answer to that question.
The gift got me thinking about cats and dogs and gifts. I know, you think – cats and dogs! A fertile topic for a blog! Sorry, this one is about gifts, because who doesn’t love receiving a gift? I love surprises, and dogs have proven to be very creative when it comes to giving surprise gifts.
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For example, here are some of the surprises concocted by the minds of my clients’ talented dogs:
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Interior design services – Every day, Humphrey, an English bulldog, moves pillows and blankets around the living room, making fanciful arrangements with every textile within his reach;
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Document security – Lester, a Cocker Spaniel, carefully shreds bills (paid and unpaid) if they have been left carelessly on the kitchen table;
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Artistic sculpture – Lacy, a Lab mix, ingeniously carves table legs with its teeth into unique formations;
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Closet Reorganization – ShuShu, a Beijinger, coordinates shoes, boots and slippers by texture and taste, rather than color and style;
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Carpet cleaning – Nellie, a Cairn Terrier, uses her face and paws to scrape surface dirt from carpets;
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Garden transplants – Jack, a Siberian Husky, happily corrects any botched placement of rose bushes and azaleas;
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Bathroom renovation – A sin: going potty in the corner of the living room is much more convenient than in the bathroom down the hall. Most dogs consider giving this gift at some point in their lives, some more often than others.
I guess the owners don’t like opening the gifts mentioned above. In fact, they are usually very disturbed by their overzealous and generous dog. The typical reaction to one of these gifts is:
Oh my god, what have you done? Bad dog, bad dog. Look what you did! Come back here! Wait, I’ll get my hands on you…
Maybe you also say something printable. It’s good. The dog doesn’t understand. Actually, the only thing your dog understands is the tone of your voice. He can tell you’re not happy, but he doesn’t know why.
Your dog lives in the moment. You can’t come home and correct a dog for something he did hours ago. He just won’t understand. He can’t make the connection between your anger and the trashed trash can in the bathroom. He doesn’t run away because “he knows he’s guilty.” And he didn’t do this act because he is angry with you, for revenge or because he hates you. He’s a dog, so he did it for dog reasons. He may be bored, need exercise, or not understand the house rules of behavior. The gift you give your dog is to help him become the best dog he can be – with your calm, consistent guidance.
And remember this each the day is a gift when you share your life with a dog.