Paws, Breathe, Proceed

Taking a moment to ‘paws’.

Hooch sat among the ladies on the front porch, enjoying their monthly gathering for brunch. Hooch is stocky, red, mixed breed dog with a clear connection to pit bull in his lineage. He is a happy dog who loves his people and enjoys being included and recognized for his joyful contributions and contagious smile. 

As the ladies were chatting Hooch was distracted by squirrels in the yard and curious about individuals who were passing through the neighborhood, but Hooch kept one eye on the porch ladies. He continued to work the group with his warm energy and contagious smile, intermittently offering his broad shoulders as an invitation to scratch his back. 

Hooch was particularly interested in Cindy’s report about her upcoming trip to Alaska. She shared her looming list of pending preparations, talked a bit about the destination and navigating crazy schedules until the departure date – and recent reports of bear attacks in the news!! 

Just as Cindy was fully consumed by the reality of pending tasks and organization, the careful planning of food, supplies and bear spray…Hooch squared his shoulders, looked up at Cindy and landed a big paw gently on her forearm resting on the chair. 

Cindy immediately recognized how her imagination was on the verge of crazy making. Hooch sat still, smiling up at Cindy, inviting her to ‘paws.’ She glanced down at the big red paw on her arm with a smile, took a breath and had a laugh. She thanked Hooch for his interruption and took a moment to accept his grounding influence. There was no need for worry. The packing and organizing is only a task to complete and a healthy respect for bears in nature is part of the camping experience. 

Cindy expressed her gratitude to Hooch and we all took a moment to ‘paws,’ breathe and honor the awareness of a big red dog who stepped in with a gentle paw to the arm – changing the energy of the exchange from overthinking to grounded awareness.