Im Looking at the Dog in the Mirror

You have heard the adage “owners look like their dogs” or vice versa? I have several friends at Dog Park for which this is true: Cloudy, the boxer is sleek and thin moving with a quickness and grace that mirrors her mom. Gee is an Australian Sheppard who is fluffy and rotund monitoring the park, much like her dad. Then there’s Kennedy the American Bulldog, short and stout with an open friendly smiling face just like his dad. Even I at one time had my long hair pulled back at the bangs, featuring my huge eyes with a little bump at the crown of head – which made me and my little Shih Tzu Bodhi look like twins!  What I have observed moreover though is how dogs mirror aspects of their owners’ personalities. Naturally certain human personalities are attracted to certain breeds for what they embody physically and trait wise.  I am attracted to high energy, social dogs.  I also need a canine companion that seeks out my approval and affection.

When I watch my little blonde dog, Bodhi, chase his squirrel down the hall I am amazed at the endless energy he has and the grin that spreads across his face as his people laugh and cheer kudos to his cuteness.  He makes friends everywhere we go and wins hearts instantly with his sparkly brown eyes.  Many of my friends and family have described me much as I have Bodhi.  So is it fair to say he is my “mini-me”?  If we watch our children, the fur babies and the human ones – we can see this.  My fur children are social and eager to know others because I am.  My Baby Ponydog is coy, because I taught her coy fetch games.  Little blonde dog craves attention but will sit back and wait to be noticed, and then turn on the charm.  They are both impatient and we work on THAT trait together.The tiniest glimpse of ourselves in their embodiment. 

So we should look further into ourselves and what we give to others.  Are we tense, closed, negative or maybe a tad too neutral? What do your “mini me’s” say about you?  What have you gifted them that they show to the world?  When I am at Dog Park and I see the way in which the fur children handle themselves, I am not surprised that the people stand in a social circle and really get to know one another.  We are curious, we are open minded, we aren’t afraid to speak our minds or correct one another’s fur children with firm loving guidance.  We smile and laugh and share anecdotes - as our fur children greet one another and all the people who enter the park. Some days it truly is a utopian society – no wonder we never want to leave…