Published: August 21, 2008 04:54 pm            

Chamber Column

You can learn a lot by being a pet owner, if you are smart enough to just observe. In the short time I’ve been a dog owner, I’ve realized how clever my 4-pound Chihuahua, Scrappy, can be.

Dogs instinctively know some of the things that it takes us humans a while to learn. Some of these are life lessons, some business lessons. Read on and see if you are reminded of a few things.

First of all, Scrappy is happy. He doesn’t want more than he has — he’s content with the first toy I ever got him. Our society puts so much stock in tangible goods and keeping up with the Jonses that we often forget how to be happy.

It’s true, as our lives move along we become more and more stressed and worried about how we are going to become rich and famous so that we can buy all this “stuff” and we seriously forget how to be happy.

Scrappy accepts people as they are instead of hoping he can change them. He is a great networker. He will approach anyone. He doesn’t judge people by appearances, age or disability. He makes you smile. He is magnetic. He can read body language. If you don’t care for dogs, he knows it, but if you give him the least invitation with a smile or greeting, he will adopt you.

He embraces a balanced life. For Scrappy, there is a time for playing and a time for belly rubs; a time for eating and a time for napping; a time for riding in the car and a time for walking; a time for cuddling and a time for sniffing.

Here are some other canine lessons to share:

1. Always greet customers with excitement and enthusiasm, even when you just saw them three minutes ago. They never grow tired of thinking they are the most important thing in your life.

2. Don’t confuse your tail with a goal worth chasing.

3. Don’t be afraid to get dirty — indeed, relish it. Clean paws equal boredom.

4. When the big folks are feasting, if you know how to work things, you’ll be able to feast as well.

5. Barking a lot is annoying; however, if you don’t bark a lot, when you do, people spring to attention.

6. Carefully guard your family or business.

7. The more you display how you don’t need a leash, the less you have to wear it.

9. A good walk can clear your head.

10. Continuously learning new tricks keeps you young.

11. Don’t forget to stretch yourself throughout the day.

12. Always make your masters think it’s they who are in charge.

13. It’s good to know where a couple of bones are hidden.

Dogs seem to enjoy life all of the time. We’ll never know whether dogs ever think in terms of “comparisons,” but as we watch a dog chew happily on a bone, it’s hard to imagine he is thinking “it’s too bad this bone isn’t as good as the one I had last week!” Instead, he seems to get 100 percent enjoyment out of that bone. I think that’s a lesson in itself. Yes, it is nice to have goals and dreams of wealth and riches, but is it worth the cost of enjoying the things that you already have?

Be happy!



Beth Morrison is vice president of member services at the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.