Sharing Bread

The other day when I was out for a walk by myself, I discovered a pile of bread that a neighbor had thrown out for the birds.

"Yum!" I said as I gobbled down as much bread as I could. I ate and ate and ate. My tummy kept getting bigger and bigger from all the bread.

Then I heard mom whistle her whistle to let me know it was time to go home.

"Oh no!" I cried. I knew I wasn't supposed to be out of the yard by myself and I wasn't supposed to be eating bread because the grain in it gives me itchy ears and I wasn't supposed to steal bread from the birds. "I'm going to get into trouble!"

I had to think fast. I snatched one last piece of bread and, instead of eating it really quickly, I hid it in my mouth. Then I sauntered my way home, trying to look like I really wasn't up to anything. I put the piece of bread in my front lawn before Mom told me to come in the house. I had to have a time-out because I left the yard without being with a human.

When I was in the house, I gazed out the window longingly and saw Squirrel taunting me to come back outside and play. Mom finally said I could go chase Squirrel, so I did for awhile. Then before coming back into the house, I went to the front yard and grabbed the piece of bread. I hid it inside my mouth once again so Mom wouldn't see it. Then I secretly brought the piece of bread into the house.

Mom wondered what I was up to because I always go into the kitchen for Treat whenever I come in from outside. But this time, instead of going straight to the kitchen, I slithered my way to Mom's office and dropped the piece of bread on the floor there. I didn't want her to see that I was leaving her the bread as  a peace offering because I had left the yard without her.

Mom was very surprised to find the piece of bread later on in the day. When she did, Mom sat down on the floor. I sat in her lap. Then Mom broke the bread into pieces and shared them with me. Yum!

Thought for you humans:
What is the bread you could offer someone? Who is in need of something only you could provide?

Music to My Ears!

I love to sing!

My favorite song is Olympic Fanfare by John Williams. The song was made famous by the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Mom introduced me to the song one day by playing it on her phone, and I decided this was my most favorite song of all time.  My favorite instrument is the trumpet, and this song is filled with trumpets!

When the trumpets sound, I love to throw my head back and howl in tune to them. I howl when the trumpets play their high notes, low notes, and notes in between. Mom says I look and sound like a wolf when I do that!

Awooooooooooooooooooooooooo......Awoooooooooooooooooooooooooo...Awooooooooooooooooooooo...

Listen to the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlC9Bxzr5Oc&feature=fvst

Doesn't it just make you want to howl along?

Though for you humans:
What is the tune that drives your life? What makes you sing? Howl?

Pray Always, say Ephesians and Thunder.

A lot of Mom's human friends have been bugging her to teach me to pray. They want me to lie down and fold my paws in a charming way whenever they say their prayers before they eat Food.

So I started thinking...

Whenever I'm in Mom's car going to visit my human friends, I can hardly wait! I know my human friends love me and I sure love them! As we get closer to their house, I start to wag everything behind my ears in eagerness and joy.

Isn't eagerness and joy a prayer?

Sometimes I am alone for awhile. I sit at the window, watching and longing. In a way I am sad, but somehow I know that someone I love will come and play with me.

Isn't watching and longimg for someone I love a prayer?

At my human friend's house, there is a huge ottoman by the window. I love to sit there and watch out the window. I watch the cars zipping by on the street. I see Squirrel run right up the tree! How can he do that? I can't get up a tree no matter how hard I try, and believe me, I've tried! And so...I wonder. Then Bird goes up off the grass into the air and doesn't fall. I can't do that--and I've tried flapping my ears really fast, but then I just fall on my nose. And I wonder. And when Squirrel runs with four legs along a tiny rope way up in the sky and doesn't fall off, I really wonder!

Isn't wonder a prayer?

When my human friends are eating things that smell really good, I want some, too. But they say, "No!" So I watch and beg. I wag my tail furiously. I make funny sounds in my throat, just to keep begging. In the end I usually get a tiny something that tastes good. So...

Isn't watching and begging a prayer?

Then there's the Dog Park. I meet friends there and we growl and play "Mad." We jump and chase and play "Glad." We lick and play "I Like You." Best of all, we play with abandon as we roll in mud, water, and dart and play "Free."

Isn't abandon a prayer?

Gus is my most favorite dog friend. We usually have lots of fun chasing each other around the house and the yard. Sometimes, though, he growls and snaps. Then I feel hurt and I go in the corner or sit by Mom and pout. But that's only for a little while. I always go back and then we lick and wag and play Chase and we're friends again.

Isn't licking and wagging and making friends again a very good prayer?

When I am at my human friends' house and Mom says it's time to go home, I like to leave a little surprise for one my friends, just to say, "You're special to me." Sometimes I put Bone under someone's bed or my favorite toy on someone's pillow just to make  her smile and know I'm thinking of her.

Isn't saying "I like you" in little, secret ways a wonderful prayer?

Anways, Mom doesn't need to teach me to pray. Do I really need to learn to fold my hands to pray? I think my life is a prayer and in everything I am and do I am praying always.

(P.S. I must thank my good human friend Miriam for helping me with the ideas for this blog! She is a very holy person!)

Thought for you humans:
Are you a prayerful person? Do you embody a person of prayer?

Entertaining Angels Unaware

I hear that it is important to treat all
living things with kindness because
I may be in fact dealing with
angels in disguise.

I like to think that angels
are very kind celestial beings right
here in our midst who want to spread
joy and love and loyalty and trust
wherever they are and wherever they
are needed most.

So it is easy for me to accept
that angels come in the form of
dogs, deer, birds, squirrels, and
yes, even cats
as angels in disguise because when
I am nice to them, they are nice
to me in return: they play Chase,
share Treats, take naps with me.

Our kindness goes back and forth
between us like a dog chasing Ball and
returning it to his Mom who throws it
again so he can get it and return it...

But must I,
O must I
be kind again to that
skunk?

Thought for you humans:
Can you spot the angels among us, even in the skunks of your life?

Things to Learn

A few weeks ago I celebrated my first birthday. I am no longer a puppy; I am a big boy!

I don't eat Puppy Food anymore! Now I eat Big Boy Food! Yum!

I had to learn a lot of new things during my first year of life. Here are some of my learnings:

1. Have someone open the door for you. You just don't have to do everything by yourself!

2. Smile, jump, and wiggle your butt whenever you see someone you haven't seen in awhile.

3. Enjoy the treats and water your human friends set out for you when you go over to their house for a visit. People like to share and be hospitable.

4. Sit on someone's lap when you go for car rides. The view is so much better!

5. Find a cozy spot by the window where you can laze around. You will notice interesting things when you sit still!

6. Secretly put a special present (like a bone, ice cream bar wrapper, or even Lamby) on your friends' beds or under their pillows. They will love getting a surprise!

7. Share your ice cream cone with someone and let someone share his/her ice cream cone with you!

8. Volunteer to clean the dishes and the floor after Supper.

9. Sing loudly whenever someone walks by your house or when someone comes to the door or when the doorbell rings or when the doorbell rings on TV.

10. Know when you are supposed to Sit, Stay, Lie Down, Have a Massage, and Play Ball. There is a time for everything.

11. Hug and kiss your friends whenever you leave them.

12. Always kiss your loved ones good night. Every night.

Thought for you humans:
What have you learned lately that you must pass on to others?

A Beautiful Fawn

The other day
on another one of my walks in the cemetery
I came across a fawn resting near the creek.

The fawn must have been only a couple hours old.

I think I startled it
when I went over by it to say,
"Hi! Welcome to my favorite place to take a walk!"

The fawn wobbled as it stood up.
I noticed that I was taller that it was,
which means that the fawn was quite small
because I, too, am small!

The fawn followed me out from the tall grasses
and the weeds in which it had made its resting spot.

I gave it a kiss. It kissed me back!

I did my "play bow.'" It bowed right back at me!

I said, "Woof!" It said to me, "Squeak!"

I tried to chase the fawn, but I learned that
I had to run very slowly--almost walk--because
the fawn was still so new on its legs.

But we chased around in a circle. Again. And again.

Then we kissed. And bowed. And chased.

It was time to go home.

I looked around for the fawn's Mom because I am
sure the Mom was nearby and watching us. She
wouldn't want anything or anyone to hurt her precious
fawn.

I think I heard the fawn's Mom say,
"Behold. This is my beloved, the fawn, in whom I am well pleased."

Thought for you humans:
How have you interacted with all that is good and pleasing in this world today?

Interspecies Relationships

I was asked by a reader of this blog if I believe in interspecies relationships. This reader was, of all things, a cat! The cat apparently has a case of puppy love for me and wants to know if I would be interested in a friendship with her.

All my dog-friends have told me to dislike cats. Cats, they say, are not like dogs and dogs are the most superior animals of all. If humans especially want to know what the full essence of being an animal is like, all they have to do is look at dogs. Dogs are the epitome of what it means to be an animal. Dogs are the best. They are superior. They can be both ferocious and loving. Without being a dog, you simply can't be considered an animal.

I must listen to the wise words of my dog-friends because after all, I am still a puppy and learning new things every day. They say to be wary of cats because cats are very different from dogs: they meow and purr instead of bark; they use the facilities in a little box and not outside like the rest of the animals; their food is so much more different than dogs' foods; they sleep so much; they jump and climb a lot; they are more concerned about their own space than that of a pack.

Silly, silly cats. How they must wish to be like us dogs, the truest animal there is! Dogs--the one and only way to be an animal.

But the more I think about it, I wonder if my dog-friends have their ideas about the superiority of dogs correct. Why would God make one animal more superior than the others? Didn't St. Francis of Assisi, my human hero, love all animals? Why should we not like someone else just because he or she looks, speaks, uses the facilities, and behaves differently than we do?

I met two cats once. Their names are Gus and Oreo. When I met them and got to know them, I must admit that I forgot about what my dog-friends said about cats. I just wanted to play with them. Because cats know how to jump and climb a lot better than I can, we had great chases together around the house. I took a bit of their food from their Food Dish and, I must say, it did not taste as bad as I had heard it would taste. Even though the cats showed me where they use the facilities, I just could not bring myself to use that little box, but I was determined to respect their wishes to use the box whenever they needed to. Most importantly, because cats are such great sleepers, we had the best nap together! Did you know they purr when they are content and sleepy? It was a nice sound and it put me right to sleep.

Getting back to what I think of interspecies relationships. Yes, I am all for it. I would like a friendship with a cat. We all share this world together, and I just don't think there is just one and only way to communicate, eat, use the facilities, sleep, or move around. We're all different. We don't need to focus upon what is different between us. Instead, we ought to know we are different, accept each other anyway, and try to learn from each other.

Take some time to walk in someone else's paws for a day and I think you, too, will have a change of heart. I hope my dog-friends will do that, too.

Thought for You Humans:
Is there something around you that claims to be the best and the only way of being and doing things? Is it political? Religious? Personal?

What harm does such a claim do to you, your family, your colleagues, your school? How can humans do a better job at trying to focus upon what we have in common, rather than upon what drives us apart?