Today ……………. or Someday?

So many times I have heard people talk about the things they are going to do someday ………… perhaps tomorrow?  The most disgruntled individuals tend to be those individuals who were going to do (whatever) someday, but now they no longer have that option. They are left thinking …….

“If only I had …” or “I should have …” or “I wonder if I could have …”

In our “earlier years” it is so easy to decide to do something “Later”, because “Later” is always an option ……………… right? Of course we could not possibly plan for that accident which limited certain future activities, or for that medical procedure that saved our life but had long term consequences. We could certainly not have planned for the “natural order of things” ……….. being the body and all its functions slowly breaking down as the aging process continues. Somebody once said …

“There is only one guarantee in life … that you will never get out of it alive!”

If there is something you have always wanted to do, then the best time to start the journey to achieving that goal is today, because none of us have any guarantees about tomorrow.

“There are only seven days in the week, and “Someday” is not one of them.”

Just imagine that, since your childhood, you have always wanted to (whatever). Then a formal education followed by a necessity to work got in the way; perhaps a few failed relationships; need for a career change; raising a family; rehabilitation after a traffic accident, and perhaps a number of other medical challenges. It is so practical to just keep adapting to the various challenges that life presents but, in that adaptation, we lose sight of those original dreams.

“Yesterday cannot be changed. Tomorrow has not come yet. You only have today so use it wisely.”

This topic can go on forever, and Nike even captured the essence of motivation with their “Do It Now” slogan … but this Post is about you and not Nike!

Whatever is on your “Dream list”, make “Today” your starting point and, once you have started on that road, keep moving forward. In a very short time you will be able to look back with satisfaction that you have at least started on a journey of self-discovery!

When you get into your later years, just imagine being able to reflect back with satisfaction and pride that the items on your Dream List were all checked off! Will you be able to achieve all your goals? Perhaps not, but at least you will have tried and so can look back knowing you gave it your best ………………..  in contrast with looking back and thinking ….

“If only I had …” or “I should have …” or “I wonder if I could have …”

It’s your life! Use it wisely as there is no re-run option!

Something totally different!

Here is a link to a comedy sketch by Deirdre O’Kane, who I came across quite by chance on YouTube. Humour is, of course, a personal thing but I found her very entertaining. There are the sexual overtones and some choice language which may be a problem for some of you, and her Irish accent might be challenging …………. but overall, I thought she was very entertaining and I have played/replayed this particular performance many times!

A Brief Escape!

My partner Carol came across this video and she was so impacted by it that she forwarded the link to me. I watched it ……………………… and could totally understand her reaction. Enjoy the soft guitar and the beautiful visual escape from our current world!

One Year Ago!

On January 18, 2023, our beloved Ray left us.

On January 19, 2023 …………….

I would hear little footsteps coming into my bedroom, but I knew he would never enter again.

I would get a nudge on my elbow as I sat at the computer, but I knew he was not here.

I would hear his footsteps overhead as I sat in the basement, but I knew it could not be Ray.

I had a roll of poop bags in my jacket pocket and later would probably go for a walk, although it would be quite different now.

I looked at his food bowls, knowing that we had no reason to put food in them.

January 19, 2024 ……………….

All those traits that were uppermost in our minds after Ray had gone …….. have been adopted by Nigel without any encouragement from us! He is the perfect dog to share our future with.

Blog, Nigel and Life!

Those of you who have a dog (or two) as part of your daily life, are probably wondering “Whatever happened to Nigel? You would think more Posts would be published by now about his progress (or lack of)!”

Life has presented me with a number of challenges recently which have resulted in neither the time nor the drive to be creative in the context of Blogging. Sadly I am not expecting much to change in the immediate future however, these challenges will eventually be resolved and I fully expect a return to publishing regular Posts.

In the meantime ……….. Nigel?

Nigel is the most loving dog that I have known, and we formally adopted him a few weeks ago. The best way we describe him to anybody who asks, is that he is like a big cuddly teddy bear … and he generates his own heat! As much as we love to cuddle up to him, he is just as likely to cuddle up to us. Is he perfect? Of course not but then … are any of us? Given that he was born with the intent to become a Guide Dog, but had some difficulties with the necessary training program, it was eventually determined that he needed a “career change” …. hence becoming available for adoption.

Nigel has been with us for around 6 weeks now and, apart from ensuring that his future is with us, he is making progress controlling some of his idiosyncrasies (I prefer to just call them the results of a poodle brain).

Pic below was taken a little over a week ago and, while we are discouraging him from reaching up to lick faces, “poodle brain” still rules at times!

Nigel and his den (crate)

One of the first things we have noticed with Nigel is that he will not enter (what used to be) Ray’s wire crate. That crate was Ray’s “safe zone” in that nobody touched him when he was in there. Given that it might be necessary to put Nigel in there at some point, our thinking was to repeat the Ray perspective i.e. If you go in there, you are quite safe and nobody will approach you.

In this situation, training typically involves throwing treats in and encouraging the dog to go in after them. Nigel is highly food motivated but, unless he can reach in to get the treat (and with his feet staying outside the crate), then the treats just stay there. It is interesting to watch him assess the treats from different perspectives as he walks around the crate. We have no doubt that he will soon go in quite happily, and perhaps even chill there periodically, but it is going to take some time.

We were talking today with our contact at the Dog Guides and we learned an interesting piece of Nigel’s history. Apparently, he was adopted some time ago by a couple who decided to move from Ontario to Alberta to be with their children and very young grandchildren. The grandchildren (3) were all under 3 years old and there developed a problem with Nigel. His idea of interacting was likely quite rough when considering such young children. After some nipping and scratching, it was decided that Nigel would have to be returned to the Dog Guides here.

Taking that history in the context of his crate behaviour with us, I cannot help but wonder whether his final period in Alberta was spent in a crate? One can only speculate what his previous owners were thinking when they decided to move so far away and into an environment with such young children but, as I often said about Ray’s start to life …. His previous owners have no idea what a very special dog he turned out to be and, just like Ray, Nigel’s previous owners’ lack of foresight and consideration of his needs, simply became our treasure.

“C’mon guys. Who could not love me eh?”

Our Education Begins!

Two aspects of Nigel have become immediately apparent.

1. He loves physical contact. His preference seems to be caressing under his chin, but this is closely followed by the top of his head; any neck area, shoulders and along his spine. The only area which he does not invite is his tummy area. He has no problem with a tummy rub, but does not roll over and invite such.

He also gives as readily as he receives. He has met a few people for the first time (who were clearly dog lovers), and had no reservations about reaching up to lick their faces! In our case, he so readily also licks hands and pretty much anything else within reach of his gentle tongue.

2. When we are sitting down and he wants to chill out, it is invariably on the floor at our feet. There does appear to be a strategy here in that he will place his head on (or up against) one of our feet. Any slight movement on our part triggers an alert on his part.

This could be simply him making sure that wherever we go, he has the chance to decide what he wants to do, but I rather suspect that this is trained into him. It would seem very important that a guide dog be always in contact with its owner and, while we know that Nigel was deemed to need a “Career Change”, I have to wonder whether that constant contact was in fact trained into him. Regardless, it is a positive boon because we always know where he is. (Memories of the opposite personality …. “Have you seen Ray lately? Did you leave any food on the counter in the kitchen?”).

“You think these front legs are long? You should see my back ones!”

The Learning Curve!

I see no reason to assume that dogs are any less of a learning curve than people. Each one of us humans is, after all,  a unique product of our upbringing and life experiences. It would seem totally logical that dogs are also unique, each also being the result of a myriad of influences.

In the very short time that Nigel has lived with us, we are inevitably making comparisons with Ray. This is probably a very natural thing to do but, apart from satisfying a curiosity factor, it serves little purpose as the two dogs had nothing in common except having an opportunity to share our home with us.

Nigel is physically a larger dog than Ray, but an overall “lighter” body structure. We knew he weighed around 20lbs less than Ray, but only just realized how he can use his longer back legs when necessary. This evening he was sleeping on his side on our living room carpet when he decided to stretch out. Just looking at him, I guessed that from the tip of his nose to his back claws he would have measured about 5ft.  Earlier I caught him standing on his back legs and looking out of our back door window. It was impressive! We also caught him reaching up to “kiss” Carol on her face. His front paws were placed on her shoulders with minimal effort. Of course we had to discourage that, but it was no less impressive and gives us some thoughts to ponder, such as “What else can he do which we should perhaps be prepared for?”

Nigel is very happy charging around the garden catching a toy and tossing it up in the air. Ray was not much of a game player, but would prefer to chill somewhere where he could supervise whatever we were doing in the garden. We have a quite busy garden but Nigel takes it all in his stride  (literally). I was in awe as I witnessed him charging across our patio, and then taking a flying leap over some plants in order to land on the grass area. He had his front and back legs stretched out to maximum, and I have to guess that he cleared around 8 to 10ft of patio, plant pots and shrubbery.

Life is certainly going to get more interesting around here.

So who is Nigel?

Nigel was born just over two years ago, and was taken into a training programme offered by our local Dog Guides training facility.  Unfortunately, while he apparently did respond quite well to the training, he did not meet the necessary minimum performance expectations of a future service dog. He was therefore deemed to be a “Career Change” dog and was posted on their website as available for adoption.

We met with the Dog Guides representative this afternoon, during which time his shortcomings were discussed, and it was ultimately agreed that we could foster him for a month. At the end of that time, we could either return him …. or proceed with a formal adoption of him.

He has only been here a very short time but his personality is starting to show already and, unless he really surprises us in a negative way, I think it is pretty safe to assume that he will be living with us for many years to come!