Day 394

The old adage, "They don't know enough to come in out of the rain" rang true today! It was not my Goldens who ignored the situation...it was the humans! With the pinkish/orange light filtering through the windows this afternoon, my curious self ventured outside.

Taking Sammy with me on a leash (followed by The Patient, Mac...who has a head wrap akin to Mother Teresa) and sending the other three out the doggy door, we sat on the back steps to experience the Canadian Wildfire Phenomena! As we sat, commenting that we could even smell the smoke, first Ranger and Lilly headed in through their doggy door. Next, Gus was hot on their heels and finally, Sam looked at me with his big puppy eyes and almost could be heard saying, "Are you nuts? There is so much smoke out here you're coughing! Let's go in!!!." Mac and I sheepishly looked at one another and agreed to follow the pups.

Why is it that we often refrain from following our instincts? Our Goldens listen to that little "bark," but humans seem to ignore the little voice that whispers (or shouts) a warning. Perhaps it is because our lives have taken on such an umbrella of safety. Our phones warn us, horns honk, security systems blare, Alexa is quick to alert along with any number of safety features surrounding us. Our car even senses other vehicles and lights flash for dangers in our blind spot along with automatic sudden stopping if we get too close to the car ahead. We live in an age of "Safety Features!"

However, there are still times when the hair stands up on the back of my neck, or that little voice alerts me to something amiss that cannot be detected by the monitors surrounding me. Listening to that inner voice seems to be receding in lieu of beeps, bells, whistles and voices from our electronic friends. I am not sure this is always in our best interest.

Inviting that little voice back into our lives, and actually honoring it by listening and processing the warnings, could be beneficial. It might be a lost art of human traits, but it is one that might just keep us a bit safer out there.

I, for one, am going to be more aware of that "whisper" within. It might take some time to become reacquainted with that friend, but it will be time well spent. Until we are in synch again, I will just keep and eye on my Goldens...they never lost that relationship with their inner bark!