Biscuit has one thing he hates above all else: being left out. He will do anything—even other things he hates—if it means being part of the gang. He’ll barge right into the middle of things if he feels he’s being left out.
My theory is that it’s related to his past. Biscuit was in the pet store for 9 weeks before I adopted him. That’s a long time to be cooped up in a cage. It’s a long time to see people come in and choose someone else. It’s probably a lot of people who played with him, then put him back and left him there. In his formative third and fourth month of life, Biscuit learned over and over again that he didn’t want to be left out.
But I wish he would understand that now and for the rest of his life, he’s one of the family. Sure, Peanut and I may do our own thing from time to time, but it’s not a statement of rejection. It’s sad for me to leave him every day when Peanut and I go for our run, only to have him act like he’s coming along and then whine when we leave without him. If only he knew he wasn’t facing rejection!
I had a college professor who warned us not to let the scars of the past dictate future behavior. We all have our baggage. The experiences that made us a little more sensitive to certain things. Biscuit’s is obviously being left out. Mine is risking humiliation in sports.
Whatever these wounds, they only become deeper when we focus on them and let them dictate the way we behave now. Were Biscuit to understand how much a part of this family he is, he’d be able to just play and enjoy himself while Peanut and I go for runs. Instead, he wallows in misery, pouring salt in his own wound.
How do you move on from your past?
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