Be More Dog Series : My name is Dawn and this is Prince.
Welcome to the ‘Be More Dog’ Blog series! My name is Dawn and this is Prince.
We spent 14 years and 3 months living and loving our way through life together, until May 2022, when I made the most difficult decision of my life and said my final goodbye. He has long been my inspiration for a ‘Be More Dog Blog’ series. He taught me so many lessons about life, and I wanted to share some of those with you. You see, I think dogs have got a lot of life nailed.
They seem to do the most important things in life so naturally, whereas us humans have “evolved” …and along the way, we sometimes seem to have forgotten what really matters. So, ergo the creation of ‘Be More Dog Blog’! This is about tuning in to the ‘simple’ messages of life, slowing down, noticing, connecting with gratitude and generally learning from one of my best friends in the world. He was the best therapist I know. To quote another psychologist, he literally embodied the inspiring message “don’t just do something, sit there”. And in my experience, there is no greater blessing than the ever-present company of a soul that loves and accepts you, just as you are.
Communication Is Key
I’m opening the ‘Be More Dog’ blog series with the topic that first sprang to mind when I was walking with Prince many years ago: communication. Prince and I lived alone at the time, and sometimes that felt like a lonely experience.
Prince was my best friend, TV companion, bed-time-cuddler, general shadow. I would often dread the loneliness and sadness of weekends, because saying bye to colleagues on Friday’s was sometimes the last time I would speak to another human being until Monday morning.
When we were out walking one day I started to notice a pattern of behaviour that inspired me. For those of you that don’t know, dogs greet each other by sniffing bums! It’s their way of finding out lots of information about the other dog that has just approached them. Prince was cheeky; if he could be ‘first-sniffer’, he’d be happy to say “hi”, but if he got a surprise “hello” while he was otherwise engaged he would look astounded and appear to tell them where to go! What I noticed was the difference in our walks together. He would have multiple experiences of connection, whilst I was the mere observer and by-stander.
So, in my loneliness and sadness, I learned a lesson in connection from Prince. Say “hi”!!
I started to say “hi” to more people in my day to day life. I’m not a city-centre dweller, so I wasn’t manically repeating “hello” or waving like crazy. I just started smiling, nodding or raising my eyes to someone as they walked past me. This progressed to vocalisations, irrespective of their response. I noticed the regularity with which other dog owners in particular would respond, and how much of an impact this had on my day to day life. I felt more connected to humans, myself and the world around me, by simply doing what dogs do so naturally – saying “hi”.
When my partner later moved in and joined us on dog walks, he would often ask “who was that?” when I said “hello” on our walks with Prince. Sometimes I would respond with “oh, she’s (insert dog’s name here) Mum”, and…frequently I would say “I’ve no idea!” You see, I learned from Prince that you don’t have to know someone well to say “hi”, we can acknowledge people passing us on the street with such ease. Who knows, perhaps you could make someone’s day with a smile and a kind “hello”. I know in my more lonely days, that human connection was invaluable.
Summary
So Be More Dog Blog’s first life lesson is to invite you to consider your own connections, and perhaps how you would like to grow them, even with people you may never meet again.
You’ll find the next instalment of Be More Dog Blog at www.dawnjohnson.uk The aim of these is to give bite-sized pieces of wisdom from our best furry friends that help us live a life of meaning.
With love,
Dawn (and Prince). Xx
