It Started About a Year Ago
Not long after I adopted my dog, Grace, Covid-19 disrupted our world and most of our activities. Grace was fearful of many things because of her past circumstances, so I committed to her rehabilitation with dogged determination.
Grace and I hiked, trained, and learned to communicate better. Eventually l brought her to the local dog park so she could socialize with others of her kind. I didn’t realize I’d be doing the same thing.
Our dog park outings brought me an unexpected gift – new friends during a time when it’s challenging to connect.
As Grace tussles, frolics, and plays with her dog buddies, I engage with humans. They call us the happy–hour group because we show up around 4:30pm. Amongst us are poets, entrepreneur, writers, an ex-law enforcement official, artists, and even an archeologist. As we toss rubber balls to our dogs, a frisbee flies between eager hands, and in my case, lands on the ground much of the time. We laugh at our dogs’ goofy antics, separate them when they get too rough, and share tales of our misadventures.
Our conversations have changed over the year. Instead of polite talk, we now banter back and forth, rib each other playfully, and exchange food for thought. As the seasons change and winter snows make way for spring, our cluster learns more about each other’s lives and what makes us who we are.
Behind the Masks
If I ran into any of these individuals outside of the park, would I recognize them? I might not, since I’ve never seen them without their masks. This fascinates me about relationships during these times. Instead of looking at someone’s face, recognizing their skin color, or focusing on their gender – and making assumptions about them – now we see a mask. It’s much harder to judge another when you’re wearing a cover over your face. Although most people are visual, we have an opportunity during this pandemic to look beyond the masks and listen to the unique music underneath another’s skin and beneath their words.
Our dogs have a powerful sense of hearing, can smell out a friend or foe, and seem to have a sixth sense – a terrific reminder for their human guardians to see the world in novel and intriguing ways that go beyond eyesight.
One day, I look forward to seeing the faces of friends and loved ones again. But until then, Grace and I will cherish our daily visits to the dog park, enjoy the poetry of Rumi and Hafiz, and appreciate our marvelous community of canines and humans as we travel on our splendid journey together.
Stay healthy & stay pawsitive,
💜 Carlyn MDO
PS: What’s your favorite activity to do with your dog? Let us know in the comments below so we can try it out too!
Check out my interview on UK Health Radio #1 Talk Health Radio!–Listen to the Interview Here! (FYI – it takes about 5 seconds to load up the interview.)
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