In the Moment with Pudgy

When I got Pudgy, he was a wily five-month old puppy. He was full of energy and sweetness, but sometimes that energy got misdirected and he got a little crazy. He had lived the first five months of his life without any rules and without a stable home. So who could blame him for not knowing the rules of being a good puppy?

The first few weeks were great in many ways, but also tough. I am someone who likes to do things the right way, and so, I lay out my methods carefully. I had had dogs as a kid, but they were never very well trained. So as an adult, I watched the Dog Whisperer for a year before deciding to get my own puppy. Pudgy was going to be the perfect dog - immediately. Or so I thought. However, as I trained him, I learned to have patience not only with him but with myself. He actually made me a better person. I had felt like a failure in my life. Now I was also failing at being a good dog owner, I thought. But as I learned to become more patient with myself, I started to see each day as a new beginning, an opportunity to make a fresh start. And this is what Pudgy gave me. The ability to resolve again each day, and keep trying, improving upon my methods, but not totally tossing them out.

And so each day, before I headed home to Pudgy, I would resolve that this day was going to be a success. After all, it did not matter to him that yesterday had not been. He was living in the moment, as I should be too. And so I began to be more present in my life, for the first time in years. And within a few months, we went from wrestling with his harness, with sometimes tears and growls resulting, to me simply holding out his leash to him and having him voluntarily come over to me and put his own head into the harness so we could go enjoy our walk. We went from leaping at the food to patiently waiting for it while sitting up with perfect posture. And we went from nighttime scoldings and exasperation to evening cuddles and playtime. All of that work paid off, and Pudgy became my greatest friend and little did I know that he would soon also become my comforter and nurturer and would begin taking care of me when I needed it.

Though I have suffered from lifelong depression and crippling anxiety disorders, Pudgy was not intended to be a service dog. But at around the age of one, his natural abilities surfaced. His natural "people whisperer" abilities started to come out, and he evolved into much more than I could have ever expected. From the beginning, I saw something special in him. He immediately made it his mission in life to help me. I remember the first time he came to my rescue, and was surprised because up until that point, I had only seen Pudgy's lighter, very playful side. But he has a very serious facet to his personality as well, which enables him to instantly transform into a calm, stable force when I need him. It is almost like he sees the "bat signal" and instantly transforms into a superhero, leaping across the room to be by my side. He's amazing.