“Climb Every Mountain, Ford Every Stream, Follow Every Rainbow, ‘Till You Find Your Dream.”-Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II
Touched by the Warmth of My Canines
This is a testimony of how the human-animal bond has touched my life. I’ve improved the quality of my life through the human-animal touch I’ve cultivated with my Golden Retrievers, who bring me grace, hope, joy, and trust in times of difficulty, times of need, and times of change through their indelible human-animal touch in my life.
The acronym for Human-Animal Touch, is rightfully “HAT.” In such, I think of the many hats I wear as commensurate with the many roles I play in my life. For example, when I cook, I think of myself as wearing a Toque Blanche or tall chef’s hat, or when my husband sings with barbershop quartets, he wears a boater hat. As such, each hat represents a certain role we play in life. And, the very important HAT I wear in the human-animal touch relationship, is that of “canine-caregiver.”
But, the human-animal touch is a two-way street. And, while I’m a canine-caregiver, my hounds are equally canine good citizens. And it’s in this particular give-and-take scenario, that we create an unconditional bond of love and trust, with each side fulfilling their own unique role and responsibility.
As such, I’ve included this page on my website solely to share my stories, my journeys, and my adventures with my canine companions, my canine good citizens, not to mention my “best-friends.” I hope you’ll find my tales tall, my tales true, and my tales of tails, enjoyable, from the heart, and inspirational.
For me, I’ve gained improved living skills through the human-animal touch I have with my Goldens by engaging my mind in PURPOSE and giving my life MEANING. When they’re by my side, I have the “Presence-of-Mind” to be more in the “moment,” to be more in the “present,” and to live a more “intentional” and “deliberate” life.
The poet, Henry David Thoreau said it best in his book Walden, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived,” (1987, p. 135). Whereas Thoreau sought the refuge of the woods for solace, I seek the bond of the animal kingdom to remind me of the fragility of life, it’s cycles, and it’s cadence.
When in college, I read an impressive book by Viktor E. Frankl called, “Man’s Search For Meaning,” where he discusses searching for and finding the “Will” that lies within each one of us. The “Will” to survive through tough times, survive through illness, or merely muddle through the doldrums of our daily existence. For me, I find my “Will” is strengthened in the company of my dogs, is strengthened when I hear the birds singing through my bedroom window, and is even strengthened when I see a majestic hawk soaring high in the sky above me.
To me, the human-animal touch alleviates anguish, is palliative, and restores well-being. I have a connection with my canines who light up my whole world. They allow me to feel my pulse, embrace my life, have a sense of place in the world, make an impression, build bridges, and experience a revolving door of love and laughter.
My life would be unimaginable without them–a lesser place, a barer place, a less furry place. But, with them my life is better, fuller, and furrier.
The pearl-of-wisdom I share here is that the canine-caregiver and canine-good-citizen relationship go hand-in-hand. To me, they are kindred spirits who together emerge to wear similar hats that form, shape, influence, and touch each other’s lives for the better.
For more human-animal touch stories, please view my upcoming blog posts tagged with the key words, “Human-Animal Touch ©.” Oh, what friends I have in animals!
References:
Frankl, V.E. (1985). Man’s search for meaning. Pocket Books. (Original work published 1946)
Rodgers, R., & Hammerstein, O. (1959). Climb ev’ry mountain [Song]. From The sound of music [CD]. New York: RCA. (1995).
Thoreau, H.D. (1987). Walden. Penguin American Library. (Original work published 1854)