Day 143

10/4/22

Fear happens to everyone. It can stop you in your tracks, bring tears raining down your cheeks or help you make a snap decision. All are good responses to fear, but my goldens might disagree!

Today, Ranger headed down to Walker Residence and then Lilly was supposed to head to Mercy Hospital when it was time to switch pups. Let me just say...that plan was aborted!

Sweet Lilly has hip dysplasia and, although we are doing everything in our power to help her, she still has activities where she draws the line in the sand. Getting into our Subaru was not on her To Do List this morning.

We tried lifting, the "long jump" or a running start and enticement of every kind. I even got out the new ramp, but NO GO!!!!!

I finally told her we would try again soon and needed to practice before another attempt. She seemed to agree and headed back into the house.

I switched dogs and returned to the Subaru. This time, Ranger jumped right into the back of the car! He only needed two small treats and he was a jumping fool!

Today, at the hospital, we saw fear in many eyes. One lady was in the waiting room to have scans done before her bone marrow transplant. She spoke briefly about her medical journey and suddenly tears filled her eyes. At this point, she began to softly weep. Ranger moved a bit closer, placing his big head in her lap as I edged closer. I leaned in and spoke highly of the hospital, assured her that things would now move forward with a plan and that she was in very capable hands. We waited until she seemed to feel more at peace. Her name was called and Ranger walked her to the open door. Mary (I always inquire about the person's name to make the encounter more personal) headed in with new hope!

Next, we went to surgical waiting where Bob's wife (he was in surgery where they were performing some exploratory surgery to come up with a plan for his kidney cancer) actually reached her hands out to Ranger. We sat with this sweet lady for about 20 minutes and just let her share. Ranger did all the work with this encounter. He leaned in and kept looking at her face. There were a few tears, but mostly smiles and OH so much petting. When it was time for her to go back to see him. Ranger, again, followed this lady as far as was permitted and then turned to head out to warm other hearts.

Fear: Lilly got stopped in her tracks on the ramp. At Mercy there were others who allowed tears to wash away some of the magnitude of their fears. Ranger and I made a few snap decisions that seemed to turn out well for those we saw hurting.

Fear can be a positive force to move us in the right direction. Now...to go back and practice overcoming Lilly's fear of the ramp! Wish us luck!