Doing the right thing!

Where do I start....First off, we were looking for a cat to replace the one that went missing. This is not a cat.....!

There has been a whole lot of discussion in the past years about adding a dog to our family. We did it before, and I just don't think I was ready. Our boys, at the ages of 12 and 7 asked my wife and I if they could get a dog, they searched the SPCA site, rescue animal sites, newspapers..the list goes on. It got to a point where we said to our boys, "Put together a proposal, as to what you boys will do to make this happen". So they did just that, our boys sat us on the deck, this one beautiful morning and presented themselves with dress shirts and ties on, our youngest's was a clip on, their hair was combed. They presented themselves well and proceeded to recite from their clipboards all that they would contribute to make sure that all parties were satisfied if we got a dog. All parties meaning, first off the dog and second the parents.

The presentation was well done, but it was missing a few details. We asked that they take their proposal and include a few things and think about a few situations and give detail as to how they/ we might handle it. They came back, within hours, with answers and a calculator that was just a smoke'n. We (the parents), said, that for the next couple weeks we would assess their behaviour and their diligence in maintaining their regular chores and go from there.

Well our boys knew, as well as we did, that their consistency in getting their regular chores done without being told continually was not to good. Without any further word on the matter, the yearning for a dog had dissipated.

To tell you the truth, I know I wasn't ready. I had my reservations because I wasn't sure if our family could commit to this responsibility...we are already run ragged, I didn't want to be tied down, I didn't want to have to reconstruct my yard and didn't want to have to close everything off from the dog for fear of it destroying our yard... bin there and did that!

So...it's not a CAT! What happened was, we responded to a cat Ad in the local paper (also a dog in the Ad). The elderly owners of this cat and dog, could not longer give the animals the attention that they required, and thought it was best to find homes that would be able to do that. Well my family, minus myself, went over to see the cat (So I thought!) but ironically enough became attached to the dog.

When I saw the looks in the eyes of my family, when they wanted to discuss "Lady", this was the dogs name, I couldn't say no.... I didn't say yes, but there was more discussion. My boys walked down the driveway to the bus that morning with their heads hanging low and their hearts pumping at about 18 beats per second.

My wife and I discussed the situation again and decided that we could make this happen. She made a call and we were going to have the dog before the boys got home from school. It all happened! The dog was at our house, our boys walked up the driveway and could not believe their eyes when they saw the dog in our yard.

Lady adapted very well, other than the cave she dug under my shed the first night. I was less than impressed...and thought what in the world did I just do!

The important lesson that I experienced out of this whole ordeal is that it is not about me...or the cat (we still need to find a cat!). It is about what the dog has done for my family. When I write about mental health and mental fitness, promoting awareness, I consider this act of purchasing this dog part of my way to help my family on a better route to bettering their mental health (me included...I hope!)

What really brought me to writing this entry, was the impact that this dog had on my neighbor. Just quickly... my neighbor is a little older, very kind soul, loves to help people, but has struggles with his health and from what I see, depression. Well, just yesterday my wife was walking our dog and our neighbor was driving towards them, he stopped his car so quickly, jumped out of his car...nearly falling on his face and lunged at our dog and couldn't let go. His eyes were apparently just full of life and joy, when I see and hear what has happen with the presence of our dog in just a few short days, I know I can suck up my poor me attitude and fill a few holes...and a cave!

By the way, I'm not to fond of the name "Lady", I prefer a mans name like "Cowlick", you'd have to see the tuft of hair on the top of her head to understand.

Darcy Regier, Silent River Kung Fu, UBBT, Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada.