It is amazing to me how much of a dog's life is spent "waiting." They wait to be fed, to go potty outside, and for us to come home from a long day at work. We as humans are not good at waiting.... we are impatient in most circumstances! As I type this, my Molly is waiting for me to take her on our daily walk together.
But a dog will take vigil and wait all day long for his master to come home. I have witnessed this behavior in more than one dog I have had in my care. It makes me sad to watch them, because they have no idea how long they could be waiting for that door to open!
Loyalty and unconditional love is truly a dog's character..... it is in his or hers makeup. It is the way GOD made them.
Just remember to never take your dog's loyalty for granted.... you may be out and about and living a busy life all day, but your sweet pup has been waiting for you.... patiently.... unconditionally. So give your dog some extra special love today..... he or she has been waiting for it from you. Let us give that love freely, just as they freely love us.
Here is a picture of my Molly with her two best buddies: Stoli and Daisy. In a way they are very dear to her since she spent time with them at their home after their Mom rescued Molly from the Dumb Friends League. I won't go into all the details, but I can tell you what a loving person with a good heart can do for these creatures. I thank GOD for their Mom, Katie, each and every day, because without her, we would not have Molly.
It is funny how life works and how this all started with a friend of a friend letting someone know that a dog needed a good home. We had just lost our Charlie four months earlier....and Molly came into our lives to fill that hole that Charlie left. She is very loving to us and loyal too. I never go anywhere in the house without her right at my heels!
Since I had Charlie featured on Rainbow Bridge on Facebook, I check there often, and read over and over the grief of someone losing their beloved pet. But I recommend this site.... shared grief helps. And those of us who have felt the sting can help those going through it. Here is how Charlie was shown:
It still brings tears to my eyes when I look at it. But that is what a loving pet does. They come into your life to give you that unconditional love. I am now able to say that when you lose a loving dog, don't close up your heart..... open it again wide for another bundle of love. Adopt from a shelter.....too many of our loving canines have been abandoned there alone. My Molly is proof of what a loving heart can do for a dog.... thank you sweet Katie.... the Gonzalez family is forever grateful!
P.S. If you have a pup, give them a HUG today!
I am having such a great time dog sitting this summer! GOD has blessed me with so many little bundles of fur. There is much love to go around and I am happy that my heart is full.
After the loss of Charlie I didn't think I could love another dog so soon. But our Molly found us through a friend of a friend. She licked my face and gave me her paw and did the same for my husband, and we took her home!
After being around so many dogs, I have come to realize that all you must do is LOVE them. They seem to know you are caring for them and their response is unconditional in return.
I have a challenge coming up. I will be dog sitting/house sitting for a lady who has 2 labs and one of them is blind. You can tell this dog's sense of smell and hearing is excellent. It does break my heart, but he was rescued and was saved from being put down, just because he was blind! What a wonderful thing this family has done for him!
It is wonderful to know there are so many caring people in this world for GOD'S creatures! And I thank you all here. May your hearts be full of their unconditional love! It takes a special heart to love these creatures given to us in our lives. May we always be honorable in our care for them!
It has been such a blessing this summer to be around so many pups for days at a time. Maybe some do a pet sitting job just for the sake of the job. For me, I am learning that GOD can open my heart big enough to let all the love in from each sweet pup I take care of.
My heart still grieves for the loss of my sweet Charlie who we had for 11 years. I can think of him and instantly the tears come....
I certainly won't forget all the fun and love I received from a Freedom service dog named Cinder. She was one of a kind and will someday be a Therapy Dog for Camp Bow Wow.
And I won't forget seeing Gander graduate with Lonnie, his new owner on stage at Freedom. He was nominated for Service Dog of the year and came in second place. He is becoming very well known, has his own Facebook page and is on Instagram as well. It was a joy to meet him and now follow all that he does for Lonnie and as a therapy dog too!
Over a year ago I retired from teaching Figure Skating.... and now I have a new passion. Dogs and cats too, are such a gift for us of unconditional love. If you are one of the lucky ones to own a ball of love, may you never take it for granted!
And on my free days, my Molly and I go for long walks together.... she never leaves my side and we are so blessed by this dog who we rescued... but I really believe she found us!
In the early morning I reach for my coffee and devotionals and sit quietly in my office. Molly loves to run upstairs before me, and she always brings her toy along with her. I know she is planning on playing with me. We bought her a Kong which seems to last a long time with all the pulling and biting on it. Kongs are great for dogs and well worth the money!
This particular morning she was looking at me and I was able to catch this cute picture shown above. When I call her sometimes, she lifts her head and listens to her name being called.
We are enjoying our daily walks together and on the last few we have had a lone deer run right out in front of us. Both times we were surprised by this and I did grab hold tightly of Molly's harness since I could see she would love to be able to run after the deer.
I have learned from volunteering at Freedom Service Dogs, that the harness is best for dogs. A leash on a collar can do damage to their necks and a harness is very secure. We purchased a Kong harness for Molly..... it has an extra handle on the top of it which I love to use.
Kong products are wonderful and you can buy them at any local pet store. Make sure to take your pup out for a walk this weekend. You both will benefit!
I don't know about you, but I love sunflowers. It is the time of year where they are blooming all around the paths that I walk on with Molly in Idyllwilde. She of course doesn't see them as I do, but they are a welcome sight. Did you ever notice that a sunflower is ALWAYS turned towards the sun?
I love their color and their stalks are tall and sway with the wind.... they seem so happy and full of joy too! I love when I see a bunch together, all looking at me as if to say: have a day filled with joy!
There are many wildflowers blooming as well, and if you walk early enough you will see the deer. The other morning we saw a baby and it's mama. The baby ran off, but the mama keep her focus on Molly and I. I am positive she wanted to make sure we didn't come too close and that her baby was protected!.
Even though we are bound to get hot days here, I love the cool of the early morning and so does Molly. We seem to walk faster and cover more ground together. Enjoy this time of year.... it will be gone before we realize .... it is truly a blessing for us all!
Not too long ago, I had the wonderful privilege of fostering sweet CINDER. I was asked to take care of her for Freedom Service dogs and her foster dad who was out of the country at the time.
She was with us one week, and then another four....long enough to get attached to her. I cannot tell you how she took hold of my heart. I also had her for one week when she was a small puppy....she was extremely cute!
She presently is in the Canine Prison training system to be a therapy dog for someone. I don't know why, but I think about her every day. I wonder what she is learning and how that trainer will learn to love her just as I have.
There just was something special about her.... her look and her nature. She had a gentleness about her.... a kindness.
Everyone who met her thought she was special....I don't know why I was so lucky to have her, but I just know that there will forever be a hole in my heart where she was, and I will never forget her time spent with us!
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