My Favorite Thing About People

I like people. Really, I do! I even love some of them. Some time in the last 10 years or so, people just started saying “I don’t like people”, usually followed by “that’s why I love dogs so much.”

But those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. I know, liking both dogs and people is a radical concept. But why? Dogs are called man’s best friend, so there must be something worth liking, right?

In the past few weeks, I was blessed to work for several people. One woman is a diabetic, who has had me training her dog for a long time. Now, she’s also collaborating with another trainer to get this same dog his diabetic service dog certification!

I also met a disabled veteran and his wife, who love their dogs very much. And I went back to a couple who just had a new baby, are exhausted, and still manage to train their dog every day. I even helped teach a group class, where I was surrounded by people who love their dogs and want to learn how to make their lives together even better!

This is what I love about people. We fight over politics, social media, health, resources, and even each other! But the people I work with have an endless reservoir of love and compassion for their dogs.

I know this isn’t my typical “training” blog, but thank you for reading!

EDIT: I wrote this short blog post over a week ago, and got worried that it was too off topic to post. I worried that someone who genuinely needed help with a problem would come here looking for answers, and leave feeling that I didn’t have what they needed.

But yesterday, my wife, family (my mom even came in from out of state), friends, and several clients who are now friends bordering on family, threw me a surprise birthday party! I’m a little teary-eyed thinking about it. It was incredibly kind and thoughtful and overwhelming.

Four years ago, no one was throwing me any kind of a surprise party, or hugging me, or buying me gifts, or traveling to see me. Three years ago I truly believed that I would never deserve things like that ever again. Two years ago I was hard at work trying to repair some of the things that had led to me feeling that way. And just one year ago, I was only just beginning to see a future where I might deserve love like I got yesterday, you know, one day.

I love training dogs, and I love people, especially my people! So please, if you’ve made it this far, today I invite you to think about your people. Your friends, family, and community at large. How can you give back what they so freely give you every day? How can you attempt to give more? How can you help someone else give?

Thank you so much!