Reactions to Pain

I know that each animal is unique and that it is highly unlikely that the new animal you adopt will be anything like your previous animal when it comes to their personality.  I know this - and yet I still find myself surprised at sometime of the differences between Kino and my previous shepherd, Lucky.

For instance, Lucky was not very affectionate and did not give kisses while Kino will give me 20-30 kisses a day, whether I want them or not.  :-)  Lucky was rather independent and was happy to hang out in another room when I was home.  Kino on the other hand is glued to my side from the moment I get out of bed in the morning.  I have accepted the fact that if I am going to do the crossword puzzle or respond to emails, I will be doing it with his head in my lap.

Their reaction is pain is also the complete opposite, but not in the way you might expect.

When something hurt Lucky, whether it was a bee that stung her or she bonked her head on the table, she would immediately run to me to "make it better."  And fortunately for both of us, my instinct is to comfort and nurture, so I felt competent to help her when she was hurt.

When Kino gets hurt, he gets mad!   Initially I hear a yelp, i.e. if he runs into something or steps on something that hurts his paw, but then he begins growling and hopping around, usually grabbing a rope toy and flinging it about with such force that I fear he is going to make holes in the walls or knock himself out.  Even more interesting is that he will not let me touch him. In the beginning, if I tried to help him, he would attempt to bite me.  Fortunately, he doesn't turn on me anymore but still if I try to touch him or ask him to show me what hurts, the frenetic rope swinging lasts even longer.  It is a real challenge for me to sit back and do nothing when he has hurt himself since it is the opposite of my natural instinct.

I find his reaction so curious and I also believe that everything has a purpose.  Maybe I am meant to teach Kino that it is safe to let people help him when he is hurt.  Maybe he is meant to teach me that it's OK to back off and let people work things out themselves.  Who knows, maybe it's both.  It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

Animals With a Purpose

A couple years ago, I wrote about a special dog named Corgi who had captured my heart.  She had been severely abused in her previous homes but was making wonderful progress with her new mom.

Over the holidays, I had the pleasure of getting an update on Corgi.  At first, the update didn't sound very positive.  Corgi's mom had been forced to find her a new home, at least temporarily, because a family member was battling a terminal illness.  Her heart was heavy over the decision because she had bonded so much with Corgi and didn't want her to feel like she wasn't wanted.

One of her best friends and her husband agreed to take Corgi in . . . and in this new home, something wonderful happened.  Corgi, who had still not fully gotten over her fear of men quickly developed a bonded with the husband.  Now she doesn't seem to fear men at all anymore.

And another wonderful thing happened . . . the husband, who had recently retired after 40 years in the medical field and had been struggling with how to fill his days now that he was no longer working suddenly had something very important to do.  :-)  He and Corgi have been going on about four walks a day and they have grown quite attached to one another.

I often talk about how animals come into our lives for a reason, that they have a purpose to fulfill and Corgi's update reminded me that their purpose may be greater than just us.  While the circumstances of Corgi having to go to a new home were very sad, the outcome had been incredibly positive.  She is helping her new dad find his purpose and she had been able to learn to trust men again.  The beautiful thing about this is that while the friends were just trying to help Corgi's mom, it is clear that they received a wonderful gift in return.

Only time will tell where Corgi's journey will take her next . . . if she is able to live with her mom again in the future, or she ends up staying with the couple who is caring for her now, I trust that she will end up wherever she is meant to . . . wherever she can continue to fulfill her purpose.