Dekker Answers a Question about Adopted Pets
Dekker answers a question about adopted pets, along with several other concerns of readers. He is getting to work a lot more than during the pandemic where he spent a lot of time staring out the window. I suspect he may have been dreaming about going places, seeing people, and, well, doing what service dogs are trained to do. (To learn more about that CLICK HERE).
Dekker answers questions from a number of readers and he asks if you have issues that he could address. You could leave them in the comments section at the end.
Dear Dekker,
Have you read about how many pets people
adopted during the pandemic?
People now want to re-home them. It is sad.
Why does someone adopt a pet they don’t want to take care of?
And what can I do?
Thank you, Gail.
Woof, Gail, woof! I, too, feel the pain of unwanted animals anywhere. I see people with good intentions adopt an animal, but they don’t always know what is involved.
Then their situation changes, and they realize they bit off more than they can chew. I did that once with a big meaty bone and threw up.
People and dogs have a lot in common.
When my person is feeling bad about a wrong decision, I can sense her discomfort and stay close by so she will feel supported.
You seem like someone with a lot of compassion for animals. Be sure to share some of that kindness with the people who discovered something about themselves.
And then take a bag of kibble to your local shelter.
Dekker answers a question about cats.
Dear Dekker
I love dogs, but my spouse loves cats.
I don’t understand these cats at all.
They never come when called; they don’t know how to play fetch
and are always causing trouble – like when they try to get the food
I am fixing for supper or jump for the curtains in my study.
Why can’t everyone live with dogs and let the cats roam
with the squirrels and woodchucks?
Thank you, Dusty
Woof Dusty, Woof! Do you feel it is important to understand cats before you allow them into your heart?
I don’t understand people, but I sure love my person. I wonder why people eat at a table and keep all the food in the refrigerator.
If I were in charge, food would not be so hidden but available anywhere I could sniff it out.
I don’t understand cats either, but I don’t need to understand them to let them curl up with me in my bed and listen to them purr.
They even wash my ears – something I never experienced before.
If you are still enough, do you suppose they might clean your ears?
If you let your cats out to live with the woodchucks, be prepared for crazy cats—and an even more unhappy spouse.
Dekker responds to a question about death
Dear Dekker,
I had to put my dog down yesterday, and although I shed a lot of tears as I said goodbye,
I knew it was right for him. He had incurable cancer.
My grandmother has cancer that they cannot cure, but no one talks about putting her down.
Everyone is so sad. I think we treat dogs better than humans.
What do you say?
Thank you, Chester
Woof Chester – Please accept my woofles for the loss of your dog.
Humans do many strange things from a dog’s point of view – like watching ball games on TV instead of playing fetch with the ball.
But your question is a lot deeper than who plays ball. It is about life and death and who gets to decide.
Choice seems to be a lot more important to people than to their pets.
I don’t get to choose when or what I eat, when I go out to pee (unless I make a pest of myself), or even who sleeps with me now that there are two cats in the house.
So choosing when or where I die is not important either. Life is simpler that way.
On the other hand, people feel responsible for everything – from what they wear each day to how they part their hair. They get woofed out, trying to decide what to watch on TV.
So when it comes to huge decisions like when or whether it is time to die, I have no idea how they make that choice.
I am just glad I am a dog. It is a lot more straightforward.
When you see a person really struggling with big choices, you might stand by their side and let them rub your ears. That is what I do, and it seems to help them.
Dekker answers a question about forgiveness
Dear Dekker,
I got mad at Roger, my old beagle, the other day and yelled at him.
I felt so bad when he hung his head and walked away from me, tail between his legs.
Today he is sleeping with his head in my lap as I write to you.
I wish I could forgive as quickly as Roger. How does he do that?
Thanks, Charles
Woof Charles! Roger can forgive because he lives only one moment at a time and fully understands the “Leave it!” command.
Living one moment at a time, staying present to what ‘IS’ is the path to forgiveness.
There are chow moments. Fetching moments. Belly scratching moments. And hurt moments.
When someone hurts my feelings, I “Leave it!” to be attentive to what is happening next.
There may be a scent of squirrels in the air or a piece of kibble on the floor. I don’t want to miss a thing!
I watch people hang onto hurts as if they were playing tug-of-war.
There is no human command to ‘leave it!’ when it comes to hurts, but there should be. Just imagine what you might sniff when you do.
If you enjoyed Dekker’s advice, you will find more by CLICKING HERE.https://thereflectivepen.com/category/challenge/dekker/
