Days Gone Bye.............

Days Gone Bye....................
For many years I have had my own dogs , foster, and stray.   From a very young age I found dogs and I had a real connection.    We seemed to be able to read one another through a secret language.  Fearless and maybe stupid, every dog I saw was a new friend when I was a child.   My parents greatly discouraged this becuase , as we all know , not all dogs love all people.   I quickly befriended all the neighborhood animals, dogs  and cats.   People began asking me to pet sit from the tender age of 10 and I was greatful for the time to spend with my favorite animals.
Not having a pet of my own , I would spend endless days walking, playing, and trying to teach the dogs in our area new tricks.   Soon I had all the dogs that were thought of as "toss asides"  doing tricks for their owners.   As years went by and I headed to college I vowed to get my own dog.  Living off campus I found my first puppy drowning in a river.   I named him Trigger.  A mix he surely was of dubious decent.   Mom looking like a Lab / Shepherd,  Dad being the neighborhood wanderer,  Trigger grew to a compact 20 pound boy.    Never more did I love a dog.  Still in college and wanting the dog to be with me, I worked hard at his manners.  Soon Trigger was coming to all my college classes , sitting quietly on the floor at my feet.    People marveled at how stable this dog was.    He had a genuine love for all people and a knack for knowing when someone was up to no good.  He protected my car and me on long walks at night through campus and enjoyed all the luxuries of close relationships with people.
Back then I had no idea how to train a service dog, let alone what one was, but he was my first role model.   In all things, this first dog and our close companionship taught me so much of what I know today.   Named after a childhood neighbors dog whom I also adored, Trigger showed me the value of patience and positive reinforcement.   He taught me courage comes in small packages and never to give up.   Trigger has long since taken his trip over the rainbow bridge but he left behind a legacy to all others.
I never hem my dogs of today in.  I allow the creativity of each one to flow naturally and encourage all forms of communication.  Thus the dogs learn.   From the abused , fearful, laid back, willful, or aggressive, they all learn how to "talk"  with me.  Our unspoken language lets them grow and flourish into the best they can be.   Soon their strengths are revealed and their self worth grows producing the very best animal to share one's life with. 


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