A Life Lesson Learned From An Aging Dog: My last year with my black 16 year old Lab, Cheri was a difficult year. Her deafness progressed to the point where Cheri couldn’t hear or respond to my voice. I began screaming at her hoping my volume would penetrate her level of deafness. I came to the realization that screaming at Cheri contained elements of anger and frustration. At I thought my reactions were due to the frustration and difficulty of trying to communicate with a dog who couldnt hear me. It took almost a year to realize in the very same way I didnt like the changes that occurred in Cheri, I was equally unhappy, frustrated and angry about the changes that occurred in my own life post-surgery. It became very clear to me unless I learned how to treat Cheri kindly there was no change Id learn to treat myself kindly. Therefore I became highly motivated to find a different way to communicate with Cheri in a way that involved kindness. Since her sense of smell was in tact, I paired a gentle nudge with a piece of cheese by her nose. When shed get up to follow the scent she was rewarded with a piece of cheese. Eventually Cheri would get up with a gentle nudge. Wed found a way to communicate! In the process, I discovered Its a colossal waste of time, effort, and energy to rage against the inevitable changes that aging brought to Cheri, and surgery brought to me. Making peace with the changes in Cheri was the first step in making peace with the changes in me. Finding graceful and loving ways to cope with life changes makes all difference. Im thankful Cheris last year gave me that opportunity and gift
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 17:08:52 +0000
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