We took Janet to the vet yesterday for her yearly check-up. She has been living with us for three years now. Her vaccination record kind of tells her story: No entry for the first years of her life, it starts with 2013 in Romania. In this first year, several treatments for ticks and worms are mentioned, maybe she was in a bad shape back then. A part of her tongue is missing, the bone near hear yaw is dented – she must have endured hard times.
But – and this is what admire most in her – she knows she is in a better place now, and that the bad times are over. When we entered the waiting room yesterday, she happily wagged her tail. She is convinced of the fact that her humans do not willingly bring her into a bad situation. What happened years ago, is irrelevant today. I really can learn from that when bad scenes from the past repeat in my head again and again.
At the beginning, it took her some time to fully understand that we treat her well. I still am surprised how much she trusts us now. Even more so because we know, that she didn’t tolerate humans near her when she came to the shelter. She was about five years old when she met us, and she completely changed her opinion about humans. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Think again! I wish I could do the same, I am very bad at replacing former, bad memories with new, positive ones.
People tend to judge a book by its cover, and they often are afraid of Janet because of her black fur. But she is very friendly and relaxed and rarely growls or barks. She is so happy most of the time, maybe because she is so positive and expects nothing bad to happen. I have to take my hat off to her in this regard and just can try to learn from her.
Who says “It’s just an animal!” is not aware of the fact that they can teach us so much about life. I am very thankful that our furbabies constantly remind me to stay in the present without constantly worrying about the past or the future. I have to admit I am a very slow learner, but they don’t give up on me and show me every day how it’s done correctly. For that, I can’t thank them enough.
