Message 21: Live In the Moment

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:34

One of the hardest things for me is to be present. To live in the moment, not dwelling on the past or worrying about what lies ahead.

But dogs have no trouble with this at all. They’re a fabulous example of how to be present. Things that they find extremely upsetting—like not getting a treat when another does, or suitcases being packed—are gone and forgotten as soon as the reminders fade away. If a dog could talk, and you asked him, “Remember yesterday when you got mad because…” he would say, “Huh? When what happened?”

Likewise, dogs don’t worry about the future. They might worry about the very immediate future (like with the suitcase packing), but they don’t think very far ahead. They live in the moment. What they feel is based on what’s happening right that moment. What they want to do at any given time. That's their focus.

If I want to learn to be present, I have to think like a dog.

Message 20: Serve Us!

There’s an old joke that if aliens were to invade the planet, they would think dogs ruled over humans because we clean up their waste, feed them, give them water, and seemingly get nothing in return. So, aliens would assume humans were servants to dogs.

Peanut definitely has me trained as her servant. When her water is empty, she nudges the cup against the wall so I hear it and refill it. And if I don’t do it promptly, she just keeps on nudging it. When she wants to go outside, she rings the bell as she was trained, and she’s pretty incessant about it until I respond to her wish. She knows exactly how to communicate what she needs, and she expects me to drop everything and do it.

Biscuit has me trained in his own way. He has this one specific face he makes when he has finished his dinner, because after dinner he gets his homemade blueberry treat. It's his blueberry face. And he knows that if he wants attention for whatever reason, he can just hit me in the face and I'll give it to him.

The funny thing is, no matter how much I serve them...making homemade dinners and treats, cleaning up their poop...they don't really appreciate it. I mean sure, they love me and turn to me for care, but they don't appreciate the individual actions of service. In fact, when it comes to that homemade food, they wonder what's taking me so long. When I stop a walk to clean up their poop, they want me to keep going! My service is just too slow!

Despite this lack of appreciation, I take great joy in serving them. And I wonder...what if I had the same view of serving other people?

Message 19: Own Your Beliefs

When Biscuit and Peanut play fetch with me, he usually tires before her. But, not wanting to be left out, he continues to play. Since he has a hard time outrunning her even at his best, he devises a new strategy: he cheats.

How does one cheat at fetch, you might ask? He doesn’t even try to chase the ball or toy. He stands in front of me, blocking Peanut’s path to me, and waits for her to return so he can steal it from her. And he usually succeeds.

If you grew up in a Christian home like I did, there’s a time in childhood when your faith is largely just copying your parents’ faith. They take you to church. They encourage you to read your Bible. Maybe they lead you in family devotions. That’s all well and good when you’re a child. But when you get into your teen and adult years, there comes a point where you can’t leech off of your parents’ faith anymore. You can’t be like Biscuit, letting someone else do all the work while you get the credit. You have to make the decision: are you in the game, or not? And if you’re in it, you’re in it all the way.

Message 18: Take Care of Our Cat!

10 months ago, I got a cat. My dogs were thrilled! But I had a lot to learn. I'd only had dogs before, and I'd learned a lot about how to best care for them and give them the best nutrition. I wanted to show the same care for my cat.

So I looked into how to make homemade cat food. Taurine is a really important part of a cat's diet. It's an amino acid that helps metabolize fats, and cats need it for their hearts, kidneys, and eyes. So you can't just cook up some meat and call it good.

Here's the recipe I use to make a balanced meal for my cat. She's about 9 pounds, so you may need bigger or smaller meals depending on the size of your cat.

Put in casserole dish:

- 1 lb of chicken gizzards, livers, and hearts

- a little bit of vegetables (some good options include: spinach, beans, peas, zucchini, yellow squash) (you want about 85% meat, 15% vegetables)

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Dump contents into food processor. Add 8 tsp corn oil and 14 scoops of Cat Mix (this has the taurine). Process until it resembles canned wet food.

Feed 1 oz per meal, 2 meals per day (so this ends up making 1 week's worth of food).

It's really much more affordable than the homemade dog food. That little jar of Cat Mix costs $10 and lasted me about 3-4 months. The chicken runs about $1.25 a pound here. It's hard to even factor in the cost of corn oil, it's so cheap and lasts a long time. And for vegetables, I usually have something that I wasn't going to be able to use up and would've tossed anyway, so I consider that free. 

That means that per month (4 weeks) your costs are:

Cat Mix: $3.33 (or less)

Chicken: $5

Corn Oil: I guess we can say 50 cents

Vegetables: n/a

Total cost per month: $8.83

Total cost per week: $2.20

Total cost per meal: 16 cents!

Message 17: Generosity

One day when I was stuck in bed with a bad cold, Peanut spent a good deal of time digging through her toy big for a specific Nylabone. Normally I help her with that kind of thing, but since I was sick I told her I couldn’t help her get it.

So after a couple minutes of work, she got the Nylabone, jumped onto the bed, and dropped the Nylabone by my hand.

Did I need a Nylabone? No. Did it help my stuffy nose? No. But I was remarkably touched by her gift nonetheless. Selflessness certainly does not come naturally to a dog. But here was Peanut, who saw I was sick and did the best thing she could think of to help. In her mind, this treasured Nylabone was a great offering. And because I knew that, the gift meant the world to me.

Peanut gave me the best thing she could give, and she gave it sacrificially. She gave generously out of what she had to give. And even though it didn't cure my cold, it cheered me up.

I don't think I give as generously as Peanut did that day.

Message 16: You Reap What you Sow

When Biscuit goes to a dog park with dirt instead of grass or gravel, nothing gives him quite as much joy as rolling in that dirt. He especially likes to rub his head in it, even though he gets dirt in his eyes. He rolls and rolls until my white dog is brownish-gray.

What Biscuit has failed to realize is that the bath he gets when he gets home is a direct result of his rolling in dirt. Sure, we’re at the dog park so I give him the freedom to do what he wants. But ultimately, I have to clean up his mess for him. And he does not like that part of the deal.

In life, we make choices. Sometimes, our choices make us a little dirty. And after we’ve had our “fun,” we find out the consequences. And that process never seems to be worth getting dirty in the first place.

It's great to have choices. But just remember with the choices that you make, that bath time might be waiting. Rolling in the dirt may just not worth it. In the end, the fun fades away and we’re left drenched in a tub.

When have you regretted a choice you made?

Message 15: Don't Give Up

Biscuit loves mornings. Absolutely adores them. I think for him, it’s an exciting new day to play and chew and run around. 

So when it's time to get up, despite my desire to hit snooze, Biscuit is reared up and ready to go. Since his day needs to start with a business trip outside and a good breakfast, he needs me to be just as eager to jump out of bed. But of course, I’m not.

So my day typically starts off with a lot of face and hand licking, some pawing at my face, nudging at my head or digging on my head…pretty much anything a dog can do to get someone’s attention.

The thing is, my desire to sleep in is pretty strong. (Though it has gotten less so thanks to Biscuit's persistence!) So Biscuit has to keep trying and trying until I finally give in and get up. But he always wins. I always give up before him. Why? Because that dude is persistent. He wants his potty and breakfast, and he won’t stop until he gets it.

I think of myself as someone with a lot of drive. But I still have a lot to learn from Biscuit's persistence!