Element Canine Training

one thought I have had lately as I go about daily routines is:

‘Shit, I have to go through this all over again….twice’

I’m not trying to sound so gloomy, but this season is hard. I dread the day when I am really alone and everyone that I began my life with is no longer around. This thought applies to my human family members too.

I don’t pretend to know an answer to this dilemma but
I try to focus instead on what I want this time to mean. In this strange phase of grief, I don’t vividly remember any of the titles or competitions or training with Ebony but I remember the hikes and the runs at Shamrock and the time I learned to drive my manual car in London and got stuck all over but having her in the backseat helped me feel not so stupid and alone. I remember the time I was on a tv show with her, or the many times we would wander at night for a walk and I would star gaze.

She is the root of my love for evening walks. It began with her.

I think its really important to enjoy your dogs and their short time on this earth doing the things you love. Training paved the way for so many events but it wasn’t the only thing we had. It was probably the smallest thing. The big stuff were moments like these - in a field, sniffing away, letting her nose take her on a journey.

Anyway, a part of me feels bad that Bebop has seen so little of dog sports or formal training the way Ebie did considering the kind of dog she is but this little soul has borne witness to the shittiest year of my life and has carried this spirit of joy, of action and of love.

So I guess - ya, it will be horrible when no one is here anymore but today we are here and I can focus on what I’d like this time to mean 🖤

grief sucks, but we are finding our way through it.