It's A Dog's Life

Did you ever stop to think that your pet's life reflects your own? When you're husband's grumpy, you get a little grumpy too, right? Well it works the same way with your four-legged family members.

For example, look at this picture. You might see bored or sick puppies. A week ago that might have been the case. Danny and I were both fighting sickness and everyone in the house was pretty sedentary. The girls actually gained some weight and their eyes were a little glazed over.

Bailey even had some kind of mental block going in and out the back door. She'd hesitate at the threshold, and I was never sure quite why. I think perhaps she was just picking up on what the rest of us were feeling.

Animals aren't designed for staying still very long. When it's cold outside, we humans are happy curled up under a blanket with a good book. The dogs don't understand that and get tired and frustrated of inactivity. God wired their brains to want to chase squirrels, patrol the yard for birds and watch the clouds roll by. Laying in the middle of the floor all day just doesn't cut it.

The opposite, joyfully, is also true. When you hear people laughing, don't you automatically want to join in? When we're full of life, love and activity, so are our pets. Once we got the sickness out of our systems and started moving around the neighborhood again, the girls were almost immediately back to their normal selves.

In the picture above, we'd been out in the yard, been for our walk and already had our breakfast. They're tired - yes - but it's that good kind of tired. The weariness that says you've been busy and it's time for a good nap in the morning sunshine. A busy dog, or a happy sleeping dog at this point, is much less likely to get into trouble, have weird mood swings or be destructive. What a joy that would be.

If we're neglectful of our pets, they turn into overweight, lethargic animals. Our crankiness rubs off and them and the next thing we know they're running the show. But being aware of our own frame of mind can create stability and joy for human and animal alike. What a joy that would be as well!