I’ve been a dog guy all my adult life. I don’t trust people who don’t like dogs… And I trust dogs when they don’t like people…

Meeka is my black six year old German Shepherd. When I first saw her, her teats were distended and I found that at 2 years old she’d whelped 3 litters. It broke my heart. I asked the two Mexican guys that owned her how much they wanted for her. I bought her on the spot. I took her to the dog wash on the way home and discovered she’d never been washed or petted. I had her spayed 3 days later…. That was the best day of her life. Now four years later, Meeka is all about family and her pack. She’s happy to be in a family that cares for her. She’s not interested in being the #1 dog. She’s just content to “be”. She’s lost 2 dog companions, but she made it through the grief and loves life.

Here’s my Meeka Learning Lesson: Not everybody has a loving family. Appreciate the family you have. Learn to just “Be”.

Harley is my wife’s dog. He’s a 14 year old Chow/Shepherd mix. Harley is blind and old. He’s the Dog-Father. Harley likes to growl at what he can’t see (which is almost everything) and barks when any visitor comes to the house. Harley’s bark is definitely worse than his bite. Underneath his gruff exterior, Harley is a real softy. He will growl and bark, but he is a real “love bunny”. He loves to be loved…. But he is real protective. My wife tells me I’m the only man Harley didn’t growl at when we first met. I feel special.

Harley teaches me this: It’s OK to be protective and gruff…. But remember to Accept Love..

SWAT Team was a pit bull that lived to be 7 years old. That’s young. He was euthanized three summers ago due to a degenerative disease. SWAT was 70 pounds of pure muscle. I got him as a rescue dog with “fight cropped” ears and he looked menacing. But, SWAT loved kids and pooped ice cream. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body. SWAT, however was addicted to the “red dot”. He would chase it until he dropped. I’d run the “dot” under a chair and he’d wait hours for it to come out. SWAT was always in a great mood and was a 100% optimist. He chased the red dot for years and never caught it…. Yet I could say “red dot” and he would start looking for it and get energized. He was always optimistic that he could catch it.

SWAT’s taught me that I should always enjoy life. He taught me it doesn’t matter if you win or lose… Play the Game and Be Optimistic.

Zoe is my step-daughter’s shih-tzu/yorkie mix. Zoe is 7 years old going on 7 months. She is very youthful and puppy-ish. She tolerates the “big” dogs, but knows she rules the roost. She consistently steals Harley’s treats and chewys. Harley takes it all in stride. Zoe weighs about 5-6 pounds, but thinks she’s as big as 70 pound Meeka and 60 pound Harley. She’s an instigator and manipulator. She goes for what she wants and doesn’t let her size be a limitation.

Zoe’s lesson for me is don’t let others put limits on you because of what they see. Be your true self. Be bigger/more/better than what others see on the surface. Don’t live under their limitations.

Hunter was a black and tan traditional German Shepherd I got because he was too aggressive for the owner. Hunter never even snarled at me. The family I rescued him from was amazed at the immediate bond we had. Hunter was a protector. I’ve had more than a dozen Shepherds over the years and he was clearly the most over-aggressive domestic dog I’ve seen. Not to me or the family… But to anybody else he was a real “land shark”. I hired a dog trainer. I consulted a behaviorist. I talked to my K9 handlers from work. Nothing seemed to work to calm Hunter down.

After 4 months I noticed Hunter was not pooping right. We went to the vet. As it turns out Hunter had a disease and he could not process protein. He was literally starving. He could eat and the protein would not absorb. He was dying. The vet seemed to think that this disease may have had something to do with his aggression. A hungry dog can be a mean dog.

There is no cure for his disease. Hunter had to be euthanized. I cried like a baby. I’m welling up in tears as I write now and it’s been almost 2 years.

What I learned from Hunter goes deeper. Even love can’t cure some things. Sometimes when things are not fixable you must let them go. It’s hard to admit, but sometimes death is a more kind option than life. It would have been more cruel to keep him alive and watch him starve to death. Know when to let go.

As I read this I realize it seems anthropomorphic…..I’m projecting human emotions to animals…. And maybe I am. But maybe I’m just letting the universe teach me some lessons I need to know. I just hope I can remember to be as smart as my dogs and:

Appreciate my family Learn to “Be” Accept Love Play the Game Be Optimistic Be your True Self Be more than just what others see in you Love can’t cure all Know when to let go

And of course, Your mileage may vary.

Dr Jay