Written by Michelle Robinson
Welcome to August’s Life-Chat.
It’s a special time for our region as we celebrate the presence of the humpback whales who grace our waters each year. I’ve had several opportunities to view the whales and am always awed by their beauty, intelligence, and playfulness.
There’s an indefinable gift that seems to remain after the experience is over. I’m not sure what this gift is, but it makes me feel as though I have been part of something special. A communication beyond words.
I also have an abundance of native birds and kangaroos close to my home, so I am blessed by the wildlife that enriches my life.
This leads me to the focus of this month’s column – living a wild life.
There’s wise advice that says a person should never have a baby to stabilize a relationship or satisfy a personal need. This advice should be extended to include the same warning about puppies.
In the midst of a later-life crisis I recently implored my husband to let me have a puppy. I adore dogs and it had been 12 years since my beloved dog, Sally, had passed.
I was longing for the love only a dog can provide, and during my life I have rescued a wide variety of dogs from shelters. I was experienced. I could handle it. This time, I wanted a baby. A small dog who could live inside the home with our seven-year-old Burmese cat.
In a moment of weakness, my husband agreed, and 30 minutes later I had bought a cavoodle. My daughter had suggested this breed because apparently, they were small, friendly, playful, and easy to train. Apparently.
From the moment I bought eight-week-old Bonnie home, my wild life started.
My sense of overwhelm made me wonder if I’d ever successfully been a parent. Had I imagined raising two beautiful children to adulthood and fostering half a dozen dogs before I was 40?
I was completely unprepared for the ankle biting, hand chewing, chair shredding, cat chasing bundle of exuberance that exploded into my life. I sought advice from friends with poodles, went to puppy-preschool (who knew that was a thing?) and invested in professional dog training, mostly I suspect, for me.
Time passed, I fell in love, and Bonnie is now six months old. The joy of being a ‘Mum’ to this gorgeous girl lights up my life.
She’s brought me delights I could not have predicted. I anticipated the cuddles, kisses, and doggie-love, but did not imagine how much more active I would be every day. It’s not hard for me to reach 10,000 steps or get my required exercise, because I rarely sit down. My time is spent playing, walking, training, and just as frequently, chasing Bonnie as she chases the Burmese she so desperately wants to play with. If I had a dollar for every time I said, “Leave her!” I could retire in luxury.
I am much less sedentary, more alert, the lucky recipient of adoring cuddles and overall am much happier since Bonnie entered my world. It has been, however, a wild life! Such is the path of adopting a dog with ‘oodle’ as part of their breed-name. So I am now told.
Let the journey in doggie-love continue.
Remember, if you would like to stay connected with me to receive positive tips for life each morning, feel welcome to join my free Facebook group “Your Intuitive Gifts At Work.” Here is a direct link where you can join my group https://www.facebook.com/groups/yourintuitivegiftsatwork
Until next time, have a wonderful month.