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Hello, everyone! My name is John McGrail, we currently have just one dog in our home, and I believe that if you’re not learning, you’re not living. Today I’m talking about being a dog person and why I love them in ways like nothing else.
So, what’s today’s fun fact? As of 2014 there were 340 distinct breeds of dogs classified throughout the world with American Kennel Club recognizing 167 different breeds in the United States. A dog’s scientific name is Canis Lupus Familiaris, meaning domesticated, or familial. I found this quote about the domestication of dogs: “The dog was the first domesticant. Without dogs you don’t have any other domestication. You don’t have civilization.”[56] “Remove domestication from the human species, and there’s probably a couple of million of us on the planet, max. Instead, what do we have? Seven billion people, climate change, travel, innovation and everything. Domestication has influenced the entire earth. And dogs were the first. For most of human history, we’re not dissimilar to any other wild primate. We’re manipulating our environments, but not on a scale bigger than, say, a herd of African elephants. And then, we go into partnership with this group of wolves. They altered our relationship with the natural world.”[57] – Greger Larson
Now, I’m no scientist, and I’m not sure we can place this much weight of how civilization has been shaped because of dogs—but I’ll also say it wouldn’t surprise me to be completely true! And, according to an article on PetSafe.com there are 10 distinct barks that can be translated in case you’re wondering what your dog is trying to tell you.
Well, we’d love to hear from your dog and you to be a part of the Friday Forum—a willingness to share what you have been learning with me and the rest of the Stuff I Learned Yesterday community. You can add your voice to the Friday Forum in several ways—by calling 3048372278 and leaving a voicemail, by going to www.goldenspiralmedia.com/feedback and uploading an audio file, or use the provided speakpipe widget; or, you can type out an email and send it in that way.
Now, here’s what I learned yesterday:
About a month ago Constance and I lost our second “child,” and that word is in quotes. We lived in an apartment when we first got married for almost three years until we purchased our first house. That was the only time in my life that I have not lived with at least one dog in the home. We bought that house in early 1997 and for whatever reason I made the proclamation that we would not be getting a dog anytime soon, probably because we were wrapping our minds and finances around becoming homeowners for the first time. Less than two weeks later a co-worker at the office made an announcement that she had a puppy hanging out near her that needed a home. Did anyone want it? Without hesitation I spoke up and said “We do!” Wait a minute, what? Where did that come from? Well, who was I kidding? There’s a reason why I had always—and will always live with a dog in our home.
At the time that Constance and I bought that house we were also in a time of struggle that affected us both very deeply and I’ll never forget the night that I followed my co-worker back to her neighborhood and found this small golden-haired shepherd looking chasing a squirrel up a telephone pole. I scooped her up and put her on a towel in my car and took her home, with Constance immediately reminding me of my proclamation of no dogs. Whaddayagonnado? We named her Sarah and she became our first “child.” My parents were absolutely thrilled with their first grand-dog on our side. She immediately was a part of our family—and I daresay changed it forever. All of the struggle that we were dealing with began to change and eventually lessen. Sarah had a way of making it better. There were long nights of her laying on one of us and making the world right again. She was so playful, a great traveler—she went with Constance to Memphis and back, just the two of them having a great trip, and always sociable to anyone she met.
After our first year together Constance and I thought that Sarah might be wanting a playmate as we both worked during the day and naturally she would want someone to hang out with. Well, along came Oliver, a beagle mix that we got very early because his mother passed away unexpectedly. Sarah let us know almost immediately that this was not what she was thinking about but eventually she got used to the idea that we were not keeping him for only a brief time. Oliver’s first space of his own was a television box—this was back when televisions were more square than thin rectangles like they are today. One evening while Constance and I were out Oliver decided to eat his way out of the box so when they both met us at the door Sarah gave us the “see, I told you this would happen” look.
Sarah and Oliver grew to be the best buds that we always knew that they would. When our son Avery came along they were very excited and over time they were right there with us as Audrey, Aaron, Alec, and life came around day after day, year after year. Sarah was 15 when her sickness overtook her and we had to make the decision to euthanize her. That day still stands as one of the worst of my life. We were a foster home for the humane society when I was growing up so there were dogs around all of the time. We had our special ones as well. I got Max when I was 10 and when I left for college Max spent his later years more with my parents so I wasn’t around at the end but I know it was devastating to them. For me, being there with Sarah at the end was end of a story that I never wanted to end. Oliver was with us until just last month, having turned 18 back in April of this year. While his end was tough for sure I had peace of knowing that he had lived well and I like to believe that he and Sarah are reunited somewhere together. I know it’s shaky theology but it makes me feel better. About 3 ½ years ago we got Georgia. Aaron was turning 9, we had lost Sarah, and Oliver was a little advanced for playing. Georgia is one of the best parts of our home today still giving us life like nothing else.
Here’s what I learned:
There’s a reason why I intend never to live without a dog, well there’s really many reasons. I think the main one is that I need the physical and emotional reminder of what it means to love unconditionally. To be sure, if you’re a dog in the McGrail home it’s a good life. But still, there are times when Georgia gets hurt, or Oliver got left out in the pouring rain for hours, or Sarah probably lived too long with her sickness and there is nothing that we could have said or done that would keep them from excitedly being with us and loving us. I don’t know about you but I have a hard time with turning the other cheek and being over the top excited to see someone that doesn’t always treat me fantastically. Heck, I can’t even summon up those feelings for people that I should just because of who they are to me. So, I need the reminder of what that looks like. Every time that Georgia shrieks her happiness that I’ve come back home, even having been gone for less than 5 minutes, I am reminded that no matter what that will be my greeting. What would it look like if we treated each other with that type of love and support? I need to be reminded not to take those around me for granted. I need to be reminded that no matter what else is going on, no matter how much I’ve screwed up, no matter the wrong words I’ve used, no matter the feelings I have ignored or outright hurt that there is always a place where it’s OK. More importantly, I need to be reminded to be that way more in my own life.
I’m John McGrail, and this has been Stuff I Learned Yesterday.
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