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I’ve learned a lot of valuable life lessons as much from animals as from humans. The difference is that animals don’t have that personal opinion or hidden agenda thing going on. They are what they are and they do what they do. They don’t stop to think what other animals might think of them or to make sure they don’t offend another animal. What you see is what you get and I like that. I like the simplicity. Sure, dogs might sometimes make it seem like they are really, really pleased to see you when their only pleased because they know they’re about to get a walk or a treat or just petted. Thing is, they know it and we know it, so we’re just pretending with each other. There’s still no surprises.
Cats laze around and look at you for hours, as if they were a psychoanalyst in a previous life, only interacting with you on their terms as they see fit and even then only to have their food replenished or their litter tray cleaned or to get out. Or in. Cats mostly remain aloof and treat us with barely concealed contempt but we know they are like that and we accept it just so’s we can be grateful for that half hour catnap when they curl up on us and vibrate with their purr. We can hardly blame them for treating us with disdain, can we?
Of course there are more than just cats and dogs. There is the famous story of Robert The Bruce who sat in a cave after a bloody rout and watched a spider repeatedly attempt to make a web, giving rise to the saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again!” And he did, going on to lead the Scottish in an uprising against the English, after learning the lesson from that humble little spider.
When I was younger, we had a mongrel dog who taught me what freedom was. Every time he slipped the lead, he would be off running and no amount of threats, shouts or anything made him come back until he was good and ready. The longest he disappeared was about six hours and, to this day, I have no idea where he got to. I did see a few puppies afterwards though, who held a passing resemblance to ‘Glen’. He always came back though and we always took him back in. We weren’t the kind of people to turn our back on what was, after al, one of our family and it was his home.
Years passed when we had only cats but then along came Tia, a boxer bitch dog. She wasn’t mine but I started ‘dog-sitting’ her from when she was a pup. I had no experience with breeds as we had only ever had mongrels in our family, but from the very beginning, I fell in love with her and knew this was going to be a special dog and a special relationship. For a period in her early life, she became very ill. Apparently boxers are frail and sensitive breeds. We took turns at nursing her, sitting up with her through the night even, using a syringe to get water into her and giving her tepid sponge baths. Short story is she made it, to the surprise of the vet even who was amazed that we managed to get her to take fluids. Like she had a choice! lol
I spent a lot of time with Tia and watched her develop and saw her character come out. It was amazing to us all that she seemed to innately know what to do. We never trained her to do anything and neither had the breeder we got her from but she just ‘knew’ when to walk at our side, when to stop at the roadside, when to stop, sit and wait to get her leash on. I had never seen this with a dog before and it was great to see. Having said that, anyone who looked into her eyes couldn’t fail to see the intelligence there. So what did Tia teach me? She taught me that Love and friendship isn’t just something humans have and share. She taught me the reason why they say a ‘Dog is man’s best friend!’.
If only we could all learn as much from humans, from each other, as I have done from animal companions in life, perhaps this world would be a lot better than it is now?
Peace all.
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Posted by scotslad60 on 2008-01-20 17:15:20 | Rating: | Views: 142
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Heh i like this....I had a big stray grey fluffy cat called MISTY for 4yrs....She always knew when i was sad and always came to sit on my lap when i cried....Anyone that says that animals dont have feelings or intelligence , has never truly connected to a PURE SOUL!!!....Take Care XXX.
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Posted by DRAKON
on 2008-01-20 23:34:32
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i love this post, i have always thought more about animals than i do people, but i don't think thats wrong, like you say, with an animal, what you see is what you get, no hidden agendas, no lies, no betrayal
wonderful xxx
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Posted by missmarie
on 2008-01-21 08:19:06
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Good way of putting it Drakon. Animals are pure souls. That's probably another reason I like em so much. Thanx for pointing that out.
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Posted by scotslad60
on 2008-01-21 09:13:23
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Gott give credit where it's due maarie and I certainly don't have anything to complain about when it comes to animals.
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Posted by scotslad60
on 2008-01-21 09:14:04
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Great post hun. I love you.
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Posted by Forgetmeknot
on 2008-01-21 17:24:04
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Thanks hon. Love you too. You are the inspiration for much of the stuff I write, believe it or not.
:) xx
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Posted by scotslad60
on 2008-01-26 07:05:46
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TY Scar. Great writer? Um if you say so. lol
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Posted by scotslad60
on 2008-01-26 07:06:15
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