Days With Daisy. Having A Soft Nose.
Days With Daisy. Having A Soft Nose.
And the simple pleasures of life.
Having a puppy has taught me a lot of things. Things I might have already known and forgotten, or perhaps life lessons that I was too busy or not inclined to notice the last times around.
Here is one that I’ve been thinking about lately, and I don’t really know how I didn’t know this already. Have you noticed that when a dog is exploring something, often on the ground or in the grass, they place their nose on it and it seems like they are moving their nose around to pick up the “message” from the scent they are absorbing? I never thought much about it in the past— it was just a “dog” behavior.
Recently I had something “new” on my face. It might have been a face cream or blush that I hadn’t worn since we’ve had Daisy. Daisy was sitting in my lap and her ever active nose caught the new scent. She began to explore my face with her nose just like I had seen her do so many times outside. I was shocked. It was the most gentle touch with the softest nose. I had no idea that would be what it would feel like. It was kind of pleasant and I let her sniff away for a minute until she was somehow satisfied and went on to something else. It made me think how not soft and gentle we humans are as we explore things we find new and interesting. We pick it up, poke and prod, turn it upside down, this way and that. Maybe even give it a squeeze. Our approach compared to Daisy’s is downright agressive… and really a metaphor for how we in our busy, self aborbed lives do many things. I think Daisy has the right approach. Learning without disrupting. Maybe we can approach new people and new concepts more gently and with more respect. Just a thought. I also had to smile as I hypothesized, thinking about last fall, when I recalled Daisy having the same approach when trying to explore a bee out on our deck. Somehow the bee did not appreciate the gentle exploration and he flew out from under and stung Daisy on the chest just the same. Days with Daisy, indeed.
More about her goings on in the next installment. She’s a big girl now, 8 1/2 months, and 33 pounds. A wonky, funny, exuberant pup who is stealing hearts a-plenty.
More Daisy to follow.
