Insight

Defined:

This morning when I opened my email I had notice of a lovely comment from Margie.  It contained the following quote:

Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love.
They depart to teach us about loss.
A new dog never replaces an old dog;
it merely expands the heart.
If you have loved many dogs, your heart is very big.
-Erica Jong

Jasper is such a sweetheart.  It’s very obvious that he was not raised in a home that spoiled him.  He cringes when he jumps onto our bed – or any furniture that’s not the ‘puppy throne;’ won’t sleep in our bed at night; rarely jumps up to sit with me in my chair; doesn’t seem all that crazy about being picked up and held; sometimes runs from me when I bend over to pet him; etc.  I have found this offputting, and now I know why!  Now that I think back over the past couple of months I can’t tell you how many echos I have in my head of either myself or Kahuna saying how different he is from how Bandit behaved.  When I read Margie’s comment it became so crystal clear that I have been trying to make him replace Bandit.  I don’t know why I’ve felt this way because Bandit certainly wasn’t the first dog we’ve every had.  It’s so obvious Jasper is starved for attention because if you’re sitting and not paying attention to him when he enters the room he will whine for your attention.  Now I need to figure out how to make him less afraid of the things he now has that he was denied in his past life.

Thank you so much Margie for thinking of me and sharing.