Things You Can Learn From a Dog

The Simple Life

As the proverbial “they” say, life is short! But have you ever talked to your dog about that? Billy Goat (my dog, seen above) has a life expectancy of 15 years. I don’t even know how old he is (though my oil delivery guy claimed he was 3-4 by looking at his gums a few weeks ago…go figure!). Imagine packing in a fulfilling, happy, adventurous life as a human into 15 years. Heck, human brains don’t even mature until after 20 (sometimes I think I’m still maturing 😀)!

While dogs have a much shorter life span than humans, they seem to have it made. In my opinion, they’re the most resilient, happy, and adventurous beings on earth. Sometimes hard to fathom in this world filled with constant terrorism, natural disaster, digital transformation, millennialism, not to mention unseen levels of stress, tension, anxiety and depression.

This isn’t meant to be a post about my dog, but a post about things I’ve learned – and things anybody can learn – from the simplicity of the life of a dog.

A day in the life of “Billy Goat”

My wife & I rescued Billy Goat from Paw’s Animal Welfare Society in Norwalk, CT in September, 2018. When we first met him, he was skin & bones, 14 pounds & caught sniffing an outlet on the side of the room (see picture). Yikes! We passed on Bonnie (hope she landed a nice home..), and chose Billy Goat – frankly because he chased a ball, Bonnie didn’t. Second reason was because he looked like a goat and we had just spent spent 2 weeks in Greece developing an obsession for goats (and jokingly discussed ways to take one home – or at least on our sailboat for the week). He may not have jumped in our lap like Bonnie, but we figured he would after being fed few dozen times.  

Now he’s 22 pounds, happy, the life of the party, and the best thing that ever happened to my wife, Vanessa & I. Think this guy doesn’t love living life to its fullest?

His typical day includes: 

• Waking up whenever he wants (typically after 9am on weekends..)
• Stretching several times (do you even stretch when you wake up?)
• “Shaking it off”
• Checking for food in the bowl, no worries if not!
• Looking out the window to see what’s going on outside.
• Jumping on the couch to cuddle next to his “Momma” drinking coffee & relaxing
• Seeing the leash presented to him & acting like me getting offered 2 tickets to The Masters (still waiting for these by the way 😀)
• Taking a leisurely walk with dad (& builds on his love/hate relationship with squirrels & feral cats, his lifelong obsession..)
• Going to the neighborhood dog park, sitting motionless on the stone wall & simply staring out over the beauty of sunrise in Norwalk Harbor.
• Coming home & lying down on the couch for a siesta (ever wonder how the Europeans live so long?)
• Possible off-leash hike with parents or disc golf with Dad
• Seeing parents get home & acting like I just got an offer for a paid foursome at Pebble Beach (also still waiting for this…)
• Plays with a ball (or my ankles)
• Eats dinner
• Cuddles with family on couch to watch “Schitt’s Creek”
• Goes to sleep with family
• Does it all over again the next day.

Take a page out “The Goat’s” book:

What’s the point of all this? Listen, I’m no expert and you can take my thoughts at face value: Somebody who’s seen the struggle, and the struggle was real. There are things you can learn from your dog, when you look closely & stop taking him / her for granted. Dogs live the best day ever, every…single… day.   

Sure, human beings have a bit more responsibility than dogs, but we don’t have to complicate things in life like we do, constantly. At the end of the day, we’re on this earth for ~80 years to live, breathe, eat, sleep, love, adventure and ENJOY. Why do we always seem to forget that?  

I’ll leave you with these pointers, that I’ve learned from my dog: 

• Don’t listen to the News: I mean, don’t dwell on it anyway. Catch the chunky points that you literally must know going into the day & leave the rest. You can spend hours reading horrible news (real or fake!) scrolling through news apps, and reading pointless content until it disintegrates your mind for the day, often forgetting what you even set out to do.
• Really, REALLY enjoy your meals: Enjoy food like your dog does. Smell it (actually, I think Billy skips this part..), taste it, talk about it! Food is so good. It’s easy to take it for granted when many people in this world aren’t fortunate enough to have it. Be present with it.
• Love the time with your family: Get close. Who knows how long we’ll all be on this earth. Family is your crew. Spend quality time with them, not just time. Get close, cuddle, hug each other, listen to each other, support each other and watch “Schitt’s Creek” together. Be present with it.
• Enjoy the outdoors like it was meant to be enjoyed: Fresh air, sunshine, even rain, rivers, mountains, etc. —> It’s all beautiful! Even NYC offers stunning views when you actually take a minute to find them.
• Take a minute to look out your window and do nothing else for 10 seconds: Might sound crazy, but it’s easy to forget that there is more to this world than work emails, iPhones, Netflix, and anxiety.
• Take on the day when you’re ready: No need to rush. Take it from the king of time management & taking it slow (100% kidding, ask my wife!). It’s ok to take an extra five minutes to just chill / breathe between getting ready for work and going to your car. Five minutes can mean the difference between a positive & negative day. 
• Take it slow: Don’t rush anymore. Be grateful for ‘free time’. There will always be moments of emergency but give yourself an extra 5 minutes as often as you can.
• Go to the park once in a while: Or every day. I walk with Billy to the nearby dog park every day and spend at least 10 seconds staring at the beauty of the harbor. It’s amazing at sunrise. I even know where the big dipper is now!
• Take a hike:  Literally! I’ve always loved hiking but after getting Billy, it’s almost become mainstream in my life. There are countless places to walk, hike and adventure that you probably didn’t know existed within a mile of where you live. Just look it up and enjoy the nature.
• Just “play” once in a while: It’s ok. Do a puzzle, throw a ball with your kids, or play around with your dog. Life’s too short for stress!  
• Control what you can and leave the rest: There is a lot you can’t control in this world, but you CAN control how you respond to such things. Classic quote:

At the end of the day – just be grateful, be mindful, and be present in all parts of life.

Thanks,

Jeremy

“God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Serenity Prayer