My beautiful dog

There are very few photos which sum up a lifetime.

Although they say a picture is worth a thousand words, a relationship is so complex, composed of so many little pieces that it is difficult for one picture to capture its essence. The picture on this page is of my dog Diablo and me.

For me, this photo really shows the essence of our connection. I am clearly happy in this picture. My dog is close, he’s licking my face, and yet, I’m distracted by my obligation to look at the photographer. But look at Diablo. He is focused on only one thing...me. He is not distracted by the photographer. He feels no obligation to attend anything in this moment other than me.

That was one beautiful dog.

Diablo was not the smartest dog I have ever owned, nor was he the least intelligent. However, he was among the most devoted, the most “good” and one of the closest to my heart. During our time together, he unexpectedly saved my life. Then I saved his. The only thing harder than letting him go would have been not letting him go when it was time.

Diablo taught me a lot about what is important in life. He never met a person who was not his friend. His basic assumption was that all people and all dogs are friends unless and until they prove themselves otherwise. He was rarely disappointed.

I only hope I can be as good as him, to always see the best in people, to always find some pleasure in any job I must do, just as Diablo enjoyed training, as though the process was far more important than the results.

Take a moment to enjoy your dog. I know that I’m looking at Tippy and Scooter in a new way, as dogs with whom I’m sharing this process called Life, realizing that we’re lucky to have one another even though we may occasionally have differences in terms of what we want from one another.

Memories last a lifetime. And as I’m learning, beautiful memories make for a beautiful life.

The new Dog Farm

A few weeks ago we made the big move to the new dog farm. We're on 2.5 acres, abutting thousands of acres of forest preserve, so there's more than enough space for the dogs to move around, and enjoy. We do have lots of critters out here but they have moved back much farther into the preserve since the dogs took up residence and marked the perimeter.

I'm already seeing the difference in my own dog's behavior. Tippy, a Border Collie has settled right into Farm Dog...exploring the property, helping me round up the dogs in for training, teaching them to place nicely with other dogs, and hanging out on the deck.

Scooter, a Rat Terrier, gets her nose into all sorts of burrows and tracks the field mice all over. She doesn't seem very interested in killing things which is a plus. But she's also far calmer since she gets to zip around and stay busy with "terrier jobs."

Today, three Weimaraners were in for training. All three enjoyed running the property, and quickly learned to come when called in the huge back pasture. The best part for them was being able to run and enjoy the space, and of course, their owners were happy that the dogs came in as called....a very new skill for these dogs. We'll be sharpening that up a lot in a couple of lessons to come, but all was well on the dog farm today.