Amy Newmark's Blog - Posts Tagged "canine-companions"

We learn so much from our canine companions, and along the way they keep us company, provide unconditional love, and share in the ups and downs of our lives.

What do we learn from them? Everything!

Ours dogs make us better people. If we rescued the, they rescue us back. If we're sad, they comfort us. If we need to have more fun, they show us how.

They are our best friends.

Here are two of my favorite examples from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Life Lessons from the Dog, on the ways our writers have learned from their dogs:

Embrace the opportunity to get some exercise.
Winter Desire Prosapio had never liked walking, saying she had a perfectly good car. But when she and her husband adopted a dog that had always lived outside, they had trouble housebreaking him. Winter determined that the best course of action was to walk little Archer frequently. It started with simple strolls down the block, but that puppy was so full of energy that before she knew it Winter had turned into a true walker. And so had Archer. She says, “If I try to skip the walk on any given morning, he looks at me like I’ve announced that all the bacon in the world has disappeared.” And now Winter finds herself walking three miles in a day. She says, “Every now and then, I look at this little dog and think, Who is walking who?”

Giving up control can have its own rewards.
Amanda Sue Creasey was visiting her parents in a beautiful part of Virginia and she knew exactly where she was taking her dogs Jack and Sadie on their morning walk. But halfway through, Jack stubbornly resisted, planting his feet. When Amanda gave in and let Jack lead the way, he happily took Amanda and Sadie down his chosen path. Amanda says, “When we got to where he was headed, I was so glad I had let him take the lead.” Jack had taken them to a beautiful deserted peninsula overlooking the Potomac River. Amanda commented, “I realized that sometimes letting go—letting someone else take the lead—is the wisest decision one can make.”

It's National Dog Week! What a perfect time to talk about dogs and how so many of them love to have a purpose. When they can’t do their jobs they get antsy, and their humans need to find them something new to do, a new way to contribute.

Below is a preview of one of my favorite stories from our book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Dogs, about a dog who was so committed to doing good that his human had to make sure she could keep going to work every day!

In Tracy Beckerman's story "On the Job" Tracy has to find something for her dog Monty to do during the pandemic. Monty, despite some early bad behavior during his puppy and teenage years, had become a therapy dog after Tracy had gone through the very difficult process of training him, which meant acting like the alpha dog and meaning it. But it worked and Monty loved being a therapy dog. His favorite thing in the world was to have his belly scratched, and there were many people willing to do that for him all day. Tracy says, “We visited children battling cancer, seniors with dementia, and even worked the airports when flights were delayed or canceled, and passengers needed a way to blow off some steam. On the job, he was the center of attention.”

Monty loved going to work. But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and Monty the Therapy Dog had nowhere to go. No job, no morning walks with his dog friends, no chasing a ball in the local dog park. Tracy says, “Soon, I got the feeling that he was more depressed about the isolation than my husband and I were, and I realized I needed to do something to stimulate him or risk the chance that he would start snacking on our underwear again.”

Tracy asked her husband if he would pretend to need therapy. He reluctantly agreed and Tracy put her plan into action. She put Monty in his official vest and bandanna and clipped his badge to his collar. Then she put on her official sweatshirt and badge and slung her therapy backpack, which held the dog’s certification papers and some dog biscuits, over her shoulder. Monty perked up and struck his therapy-dog stance.

She took him outside, closed the door, and knocked on it. The dog sat next to her and waited patiently.

“Hello,” she shouted as she opened the door and stepped in. “We’re here for your therapy visit.”

“Up here,” yelled her husband from the top of the stairs.

Tracy said, “Monty, therapy,” and they walked up the stairs. Tracy’s husband lay on the floor pretending to be in pain. Monty lay down next to him and rested his chin on her husband’s leg.

“Good job, Monty!” she said. “And good job to you, too, honey. You really look like you’re in pain!”

“I really am in pain,” her husband said as he massaged his leg. “I tripped over the dog’s toy and slammed my shin into the coffee table.”

“Well, you did it for a good cause,” Tracy replied. “See how happy he is.”


Amy Newmark

Hey all you proud dog owners out there - did you know that National Dog Week is September 20 - 26?

What better way to celebrate than reading stories from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog .

There's something truly magical about our dogs — their natural joy, resilience, and protectiveness are so often combined with affection, intuition, courage, and just plain smarts. They keep us company, act as our therapists, and provide unconditional love. And they're so darn cute!

Here is a preview of one of my favorite stories from the book that talks about how our lovable canine companions can make even the most mundane tasks more fun!

In her story "Drive-Thru Dog" C. L. Nehmer has a Beagle named Lulu who loves to go for rides, sitting right next to her human mom. She knows exactly where they’ll be going on their errand days, with the first stop being the coffee shop drive-thru, which always has a puppy cup of cream ready for her. At the next stop, the bank, Lulu greets the bank tellers and knows there will be a dog biscuit tucked into the cash envelope that comes through the chute. Lulu knows to stay in the car at the gas station and minimart and then comes her favorite stop: the school.

At school, Lulu collects lots of pets and scratches behind her ears as the kids stream by the open car window. And then she performs her important task: licking her own small humans hello when they climb into the back seat. That done, she joins human mom in the front seat again.

Her human mom says, “Even though it was just an ordinary day, Lulu’s company made it special. There’s no one I’d rather be running errands with. Rain or shine, any time she hears the clatter of my keys or the tread of my shoes in the back hall, she’s ready to go. A car ride wouldn’t be the same without my faithful companion.”

Enjoy!

Amy Newmark