“The truest, purest love is the love that comes from your dogs.” ~ Oprah

Often times, lessons and teachers come into our lives in all kinds of ways. In the first season of Oprah’s Lifeclass, we are reminded of this with the lesson on “What Animals Can Teach Us.”  Since that episode, the way that I look at the little things in my life has changed.  Teachers are all around us and as I look back over my life, God has given me many, all carrying important lessons into my life with their little furry feet.

When I was young, Scout was my protector and taught me the art of patience and to just go with it.  As I would dress her in play clothes long before dogs actually had clothes, she would sit and watch me lovingly and let me manipulate her into a dress or a shirt that was not meant for our four legged friends.  She would always be patient and never try to get out of the situation.  She just went with it.  She loved me.

As I got older, Cuddles taught me that being tough has nothing to do with the size of your body but has everything to do with the size of your spirit.  When she was little, she was sick.  Less than a pound at 8 weeks with water on the brain and a failing liver, she shouldn’t have lived. We took shifts each 4 hours on the kitchen floor, force feeding her and loving her well.  She lived until she was 18 years old.  Her spirit was huge and she taught me never to underestimate anyone!  And…she loved me.

Growing into an adult, my first 100% “my dog – not a family dog” was Kody, who taught me what great love actually feels like.  Finding him as I left home for the first time, Kody stayed by my side through an emotionally turbulent relationship and survived my breakdown and rebuild-up.  He watched me, waited for me, came to me when I was sad and had a spiritual connection with me like I had never known.  When tears would come, so would Kody as he found a place in my lap to remind me that I was loved.  When he was 13, the vet discovered a fast growing cancer. For a month after his surgery, I slept on an Aero bed on the ground…so he could too. For the next 3 months, he traveled with me…went to the beach…spent a weekend in Carmel at Doris Day’s famous dog friendly hotel…and on July 4th, I held him as we watched fireworks for the last time together. He died 3 days later.  In those 13 years, the lessons that came from him carried me through my youth to adulthood.  I learned that I am loved and lovable.  I learned that I am more than myself, but also reflected in the eyes of each and every living being who loves me.  And I learned that each moment is so important.  And he loved me.

Next in a lifetime of lessons came Katie who taught me that I could love again, even after the most heartbreaking loss.  She taught me to have patience and that it was okay to attach…that it was safe to love and open my heart.  The love came cautiously with Katie…from both sides.  She brought joy and light into a place of sadness and sorrow.  Her energy of love and acceptance is contagious.  She is the leader of my girls and has taught me to open my heart, to relax and to enjoy life.  And she has loved me…

With every bit of feistiness came Colbie into my life who has brought me lessons of courage. A little victim to bad puppy food during the year she was born, we found ourselves living at the vet for the first year of her life.  As she grew older, she’s fought allergies, losing hair on a non-hairless dog, and always dealing with the fine balance of being a survivor of pancreatitis.  As the baby of my girls, all 5 pounds of her bounces up each day…the first dog who has ever offered me smiles on a daily basis.  Her courage, energy and happiness through everything continue to inspire me.   And she loves me….

Finally, the new lessons.  Champ is my older sister’s dog but I’m the one who found him.  A pound puppy back in the late 90’s who was just waiting for me to walk by and say, “This is the perfect dog for my sister.”  Champ has taught me to be happy…no matter what.  Always ready with a happy tail and a skip in his step, even as he’s gotten a little older…he is a reminder that life is reason enough to be happy.  As my adopted dog who I love like my own, he’s recently been sick.  First seizures, then blindness, and now, diagnosed with diabetes.  As my sister travels with her job, my home is his home.  My hands each day give him the insulin he needs.  And each day, I ask for the strength to do it.  But through it all, as he re-adjusts to finding his way around life, he still has a skip in his step…and he still has a happy tail that wags back and forth like sending smiles out into the world.  And he loves me…

While I see these lessons now, it wasn’t until Oprah’s Lifeclass reminded me to stop and look back that I could really see the amazing life and lessons that these four legged furry teachers have each given to me.  They have taught me patience, perseverance, to love and love again, about having courage and also, the importance of being happy.   It’s amazing how lessons in our lives can show up at any moment and in any way.  Stop and take a look at your life.  See what life is teaching you…maybe your lessons and teacher are laying right at your feet…