Little Man - Quantum Physics.

The first thing we discovered about Little Man (apart from his fear/hesitation of shinny floors - which we soon sorted by placing rugs down throughout the house and then one day at a time removing them all) was that he had no understanding of how to walk by your side on a leash. He had two speeds - rickety old man and 57 pound puppy trot. The moment he saw a person or another dog he would head off in their direction at puppy trot pace - promptly dragging us down the street. We concluded, quite quickly,  that teaching him to heel would be one of the first things he'd need to learn - especially with him going blind. He really did need to walk by our side and to allow us to guide him through the world outside.

The second thing we worked out about Little Man was the pain he was in. A dogs eye pressure should be about 10. Our first visit to the local vets revealed that Little Man's eye pressure was 55 in his bad eye and 30 in his good eye. After just one week, we had to make the decision to remove his bad eye. And to concentrate fully on saving - slowing down the deterioration of his good eye.

Despite this constant pain, Little Man was the happiest of souls, and I had began to refer to him as my little Buddha boy as he wandered through the world wagging his tail at every man, woman, child and barking highwayman Chihuahua that accosted us on the street. He may not be the smartest dog I have ever owned when it came to learning tricks like sit, heel or down but he was proving to be the most gifted dog at reading another dogs soul. The highwayman Chihuaha barked. Little Man stood proud and wagged his tail. The highwayman Chihuaha barked some more. Little Man took a step closer and wagged his tail. The highwayman Chihuaha stopped barking. Little Man took another step forward and let the highwayman Chihuaha smell him, then he looked at me, and off we went.

Quantum Physics - the thing my old therapist spoke so much about - the thoughts/energy you give out to the world are what you will get back - was being taught to me all over again by Little Man, every morning on our daily walks. And I remembered, as the highwayman Chihuaha stood calmly for a moment and sighed slightly as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his frustrated shoulders,  the most valuable lesson my therapist ever taught me about controlling the depression that had consumed me for almost 40 years. 'Andre,' she said, 'I want you to close your eyes and think of something that makes you smile. Have you thought of something?' 'Yes,' I would nod. 'Good' she would smile. 'Now hold that thought Andre, just hold that thought.'

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Comments

[Miriam]

What a beautiful dog he is. That picture is making me smile like a dope - I'm glad he's found a safe home with you.

[anxious]

It's amazing what the animals we have can teach us about ourselves.

Wonderful.

[Lucy]

Oh, he's beautiful. It's lovely he's found a home with you.

[denise]

Love this.

My foster girl Lucy was a puppy mill dog and has had severe cataracts for the majority of her 3 to 4 year life...and although I don't know what her eye pressure is, I was educated about the inflammation and pain that it caused. She is scheduled for cataract surgery May 10, but in the meantime I am giving her eye drops that have reduced the inflammation. She's afraid of humans and is self-induced crate bound but I've noticed that since relieving some of the pressure, she has a little more bounce in her step, and a tiny bit more confidence in coming out of her crate.

Kudos to you for being so in tune with Little Man and taking such good care of him. He's a cutie...and some of the 'not as smart as' dogs are the best to have because they are generally good natured and simple...something we could practice more as humans.

[Fiona]

Yay for Little Man Pickle.