My Peace, Light and Love

It's been a roller coaster for the last two weeks. I was called as a vet recommendation to help a family who had their dogs taken. I've only met the vet once and it was as I was searching for a pit bull who had been stolen and the owner was trying to get her back. That was last fall and that little girl is back in her home.

I am always amazed at how people who have never really met me come into my life and on our journey together we come out as friends. When I started this journey I expected to make a difference in the dog's lives, but I am quickly learning that it's the humans I impact the most. To have a vet's office refer to me as the pit bull lady, well, I'll gladly accept that title.

But, back to the roller coaster. Two dogs who were cherished family members were being taken away from everything they knew and sadly I saw the emotional breakdown that causes in dogs. Dogs grieve, they love deeply and they can be confused by what is going on in their world.

I'm thrilled that I am able to say the day shined a little brighter for those two dogs as tonight they are in their home where they belong and will be sleeping in warm beds with their humans rather than on cold concrete. They don't have to stare at a door wondering what they did so wrong that they were cast out into a pen. Nope, they are all snuggled together and are a family again.

This last two weeks have been constant phone conversations, checking laws and mainly seeing that the dogs were as comfortable as possible. My role isn't always about just how to have a well behaved dog. Sometimes it's about what an owner can expect from the laws and what they can do to stay within the realm of the law. And sometimes I'm just there for strength. I tend to hold it together and then come home and hug Greyson as tight as possible. Luckily I have a dog who demands hugs and understands while I may have to be someone else's rock, my husband and him are my rock.

My hope is that in time I have a fully functional consulting business on matters like this. That is why on Monday I start classes for my behavior certificate. While it may cut into my time available for assessments and day to day training, I even have taken care of that. I've started teaching someone to do training for me. She is starting her classes shortly to be able to gain her certificate as a professional dog trainer. She's one of the few people I trust with Greyson. We met on a freezing day and since then our paths have been intertwined.

I should mention that her pit bull, Cupcake is my Greyson's playmate. While Greyson doesn't normally play well with others he has found a kindred spirit in Cupcake.

The picture is Greyson and Cupcake working together with Kayla. This was from Cupcake's first birthday.