It never
ceases to amaze me an animal’s capacity to love, and to do so unconditionally.
The way they look at you with such honesty and sincerity in their eyes is
unparalleled amongst us humans. Perhaps the combination of these behaviors is
what makes them free from judgment of the world around them.
Anyone that
knows me is aware of my near-obsession for canines. A passion for my furry
friends led me to dog walking (http://www.libertywalkers.net) but even before that, my
heart was full of love for “man’s best friend”. It didn’t matter what kind… Labrador,
Dachshund, Poodle, Golden Retriever, Cocker Spaniel, Bulldog, etc… I adored ‘em
all. Suffice it to say; long before I was ever a dog walker, I was a dog LOVER.
I would accost people on the street and shower their dogs with affection before
they even had time to give me permission. (These days, living in NYC, I always ask first.) One thing I’ve noticed
almost universally is every dog’s ability to instinctively know I was “friend” not “foe.” Owners will commonly say to
me, “That’s really weird. My dog isn’t normally so friendly toward strangers.”
Actually, it’s not weird at all. Dogs know I want to be their buddy, and they,
in turn, want to be mine regardless of what I look like, where I work or how
much money I have in the bank. Dogs get what we humans don’t—accepting friendship
without qualifying it is a true gift and blessing in life.
As humans, we are so distrustful.
We assume everyone has an agenda and everyone wants something, and whatever
they want, it can’t be good. Not true with our beloved tail-waggers. You want
to pet them, awesome. You want to shower them with love, also awesome. You want
to give them treats, even better. Dogs can instantly tell your intentions are
good, and if so, all is okay in their world.
And the more I walk dogs, the more convinced
I am in my beliefs. Take Bucky, for example:
Isn’t he gorgeous? Bucky is truly a gentle soul, who wants
nothing more than to show you how much he cares (usually by pouncing on you and
almost knocking you flat on the ground). When I was walking him the other week,
I saw a man pushing a shopping cart who seemed to be ranting in a way that made
me uncomfortable. I was trying to move
to the other side of the street, but not Bucky. He wanted to go over and say
hello. A few seconds later, someone in the neighborhood was talking to the man
with the shopping cart as if it was all perfectly normal. In that moment, I
knew I had misjudged him. He was possibly learning disabled or handicapped in
some way, but he was certainly no threat to me or Bucky. But then… Bucky
knew that already.
I was so
ashamed of my behavior. How could I make such a snap judgment of someone? Me,
who admittedly so often feels misunderstood herself… how could I turn around
and do the same thing to someone else?
And then
there are days when snap judgments are non-existent because I’m oblivious to
the world around me. Let’s face it; there are times in NYC, we all tune out. We
walk around in a daze, worrying about our lives or maybe something as inane as what
we’re going to eat for dinner. In that moment, a canine companion can be the
perfect alarm system to alert you to approaching danger. Meet Hercules a.k.a. “Boogie”:
I still can’t figure out how Boogie’s love for everyone and
everything around him can be contained in his little body. He has boundless
energy and enthusiasm and it’s so beautiful to see. That said, when Boogie
backs away from someone or something, I know to get the hell out of its path.
If Boogie doesn’t trust you, I know there’s something seriously wrong with you.
And then
there’s my dog, Fenwick a.k.a. Wicksie Doodle:
Wicksie is no longer with us, but when he was, boy was he a
hoot! He was gorgeous, and knew it. So much so, he didn’t need to bother with anyone
or anything. He was content to watch the world, and had little desire to
interact with it. He certainly didn’t judge… to judge, you have to care, and my
darling pup was far too aloof for that. Oh, how I loved him nevertheless!
And I know
there are naysayers like my friend Danny who claim, “What about a dog that
doesn’t like a certain race of people—Asian, African American, Hispanic? They
are obviously judging.” Well how did that happen? Human intervention, of
course. No dog decides to dislike an entire race of people by accident. They
were trained to do so. It comes down to this: left to their own devices, a dog
can sniff you and know if they like you or don’t.
Which brings
me to an important point: judgment versus opinion—there is a
difference! Look, as free spirited as I can be, I’m not preaching we all love
each other (though I wouldn’t mind if we did). My acting teacher, Matthew Corozine, used to say, “Not everyone is going to like you, and
not everyone is going to get you.” Some people are simply
not our “cup of tea.” But that’s your opinion.
Someone else may meet the same person you didn’t vibe with and think he or she
is absolutely divine. No need, however, to slap a judgment on the person: “That person is crazy,” or “What a loser,”
or “What a geek.” Just chalk it up to different strokes for different folks and
move on!
And I am
giving this advice as much to myself as to anyone else out there, who might be
reading this. It’s something worth striving for. Let the ultimate
non-judgmental dog—Bella—whose best friend is an elephant, serve as inspiration
to us all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBtFTF2ii7U
