The Gift Of Daisy
Daisy our German Short Haired Pointer arrived in our lives 10 years ago. Honestly, I didn’t really want a dog, or frankly have time for a dog, but my husband had never had a dog and both my boys were off to college, so why not take on another responsibility. I do love to be busy!
Armed with post it notes my relationship with Daisy started as a myriad of “to do’s”. Order dog food, arrange for socialization, puppy boot camp, locate a vet, a dog walker, pet the dog. Yup I would put “pet the dog” on my to do list. You see I operated as a machine, a human machine. Give me tasks and I will complete them effectively, and efficiently. If I’m being 100 percent truthful, I have zero doubt Daisy was far more attached to our dog walker Debi, than I. When Debi would arrive at our house to pick her up, Daisy’s lithe body would tremble from snout to tail with ecstatic excitement. If you even said the name Debi, her body would explode with JOY. Joy was an emotion NOT on my checklist, and if it were, it would have been way down on the list of things I needed to tackle. Find joy in my day?? Nope, can’t make money or success finding joy was a belief I held.
Daisy’s other favorite human is my husband, Pete. Daisy and Pete have rituals. They watch Judge Judy and eat Cheez-it’s together, sitting side by side on the couch. Pete gets down on his hands and knees on the floor and plays keep away with her, and they even have a very enthusiastic game of hide and seek that always ends up with Daisy barking like a lunatic, and me screaming at the top of my lungs to stop it because I had stuff to get done, and can’t concentrate. Daisy enjoys lavish spa days complete with a blueberry facial, because Pete knows she prefers blueberry over pomegranate.
I had accepted and was quite fine with being on the bottom of Daisy’s priority list. I made sure she received her heartworm and tick medication, and accompanied her to her annual physicals, but she and I did not share an emotional bond. The thing is when I look back, she accepted my role of compulsively doing and busyness, she accepted me for who I was in her life.
The one thing Daisy and I did share was a dislike of the cold Massachusetts weather. As soon as the New England heat arrived on our doorstep in late June, she and I were thick as thieves, vying for time in the sunshine and heat. Daisy of course not having an overloaded schedule, truly shined here. Give her a slab of hot concrete and she sunbathed for hours. But many days the two of us just sat on the deck letting the humidity soak into our bones. Me while typing frantically on my computer or phone, and Daisy blissfully day dreaming of bunnies & kitties by my feet.
I thought this would be how Daisy and I would go on forever, until we moved to rural Eastern North Carolina in 2023. Little did I know how Daisy would help me awaken to myself. If Daisy could speak, I feel she would tell you that when we arrived in North Carolina we both felt like we were HOME. No snow, no bone chilling cold, no slippery walks on ice, she and I were like bring on the heat and humidity!
With the removal of my pressing career, and relocation from a cramped and bustling city to the solitude of the country you can’t help but begin to change. You see when I began to slow down, I bore witness to how Daisy sees the world. Daisy is capable of sitting for hours perfectly still watching squirrels, never becoming distracted. When she does decide to see if she can catch one of those speedy squirrels, she does so as if she is still a puppy. Daisy never gives up, and chases her dreams daily, and with all the life vigor she has left in her. A crackle of a leave or stick in the brush shoots her ears up, because she is actively listening, not scrolling social media losing herself in the lives of others like humans. She has also beautifully mastered tuning out hearing her name when called. Honestly both of these are great life skills! She flops on the ground when she is tired, and drinks and eats when she is thirsty or hungry. Daisy listens to her body’s needs, and satisfies them. She curls up next to you on the couch when she needs to feel close to someone, and walks off when she needs privacy. She is a rule breaker, and rebel rouser too! Sneaking onto the forbidden couch and beds when we are out of the house. Then when scolded lowering her head, and asking for forgiveness. She shows me JOY when we go car for a car ride with her head out the window, and her ears flapping in the wind. Daisy will literally leap and hop into the air when you take her to the beach. She has mastered unbridled JOY.
When I moved to NC our canine to human relationship shifted. I now watch her, I study her and yes, I want to learn from her. Right now, as I type this, she is sleeping in my office just relaxing without GUILT! This morning on my porch drinking my coffee, Daisy sat stalking a gecko, and I intently watched the squirrels rushing from tree to tree, a butterfly flit across the lawn, the building sound of the cicadas as the heat was beginning to rise. As a bird soared by the house, I felt the energy of flight. I’ve loosened my grip on distraction, and I’m tuning into the hum of nature. I now look deeply into Daisy’s eyes daily, and thank her for teaching me, for waiting patiently till the student (me) was ready. For 9 years she was a part of my responsibility list, and for the last and a half year she has become my friend. Thank you, sweet girl, for patiently waiting to be my teacher. I am forever grateful.
