How a Runaway Dog Made My Day
Helping Others Makes Us Feel Really Good
Yesterday there were workers on my roof and their trucks were all over the driveway. I had to park my car in the front of the house but this turned out to be a really good thing. As I was heading to my car to run some errands after lunch I saw a little dachshund running down the street. In close pursuit was my yard guy, Ish, who also takes care of our next door neighbor’s yard. They are pretty new and I don’t know them well. I didn’t even realize that they had a dachshund.
Apparently, Ish had been mowing and mistakenly let loose the neighbor’s pup who was hanging out in their back yard while they were away from home. He was running behind said pooch, trying to catch her or at least herd her back in the right direction, but being a dachshund, which is a very headstrong and determined breed, she was eluding both capture and herding. The fact that she was only 6 inches off the ground didn’t help matters.
My first dog was a dachshund named Gretel. I got her for my 2nd birthday and she lived to be 13, so I have a real love of the breed. I didn’t know if this dog would come to me — being a headstrong and determined kind of dog, but I figured I could at least give it a try, so I called to her, “Hi puppy, c’mere puppy…” She kept heading my way but I really wanted to be sure she’d come to me so I crouched down. I really like animals a lot and know that they can sense that -who is really comfortable and truly welcoming and who is nervous and a bit freaked out because he’s inadvertently let loose a client’s pet into the street.
I don’t know the pooch’s name, but she seemed to really get that I was a friend and came right to me. She let me pick her up with no resistance and even gave me a big slurp on the cheek as I did so. That made me really happy and I would have liked nothing better than to play with her some more and get some more doggy kisses, but I had places to go and Ish needed to get back to work. He held the back gate open for me and we deposited the runaway dachshund back into her yard. She seemed grateful and Ish was most definitely grateful. I was really pleased that I could be of help so easily and delightfully. Frankly, it really made the rest of my day. Before that, I’d been a bit stressed but just remembering how trustingly she’d let me scoop her up and the affectionate doggy kiss on the cheek kind of melted that all away.
I’d assisted both a dog and a man. It took about 4 minutes and I got a snuggle and a kiss in the process. But what really made me feel the best was to experience that sense of community when we help each out. I made a contribution to others, not for praise or accolades; not even for thanks; it was simply because I had the knowledge and ability to assist and so I did. And it felt really, really good. In fact, in completely made my day!
