Animals & Mental Health

Excerpt from Norfolk Daily News (8/7/15):  "Animals & pets can be a great way to reduce everyday stresses & anxieties. It is not easy to deal w/fears & anxieties; however, spending time w/animals makes most of us feel better. Spending time w/your pets can be a great source of companionship. Whether you have a pet or go to your local shelter, spending time w/an animal or pet can help you feel better.
          "Also many people talk to their pets, which can help them to get their problems out in the open. Animals can be good company to all of us & can prevent the fear of being alone during our troubles . . . [Tell that to the hiker whose "partially eaten remains" were recently discovered in the back-country of Yellowstone. Oh, wait. You CAN'T. His arms showed signs of defensive wounds. They've trapped a mother grizzly &, as of 8/12, two cubs, & are waiting for DNA results to confirm whether it was she & her cubs who killed & ate this hiker.] *
          "One of the ways to manage stress is to challenge your negative thinking with positive thoughts. Animals can help us relax & focus on the good things in our lives. This will help us to focus positively on any situation." [Really? It still makes me anxious to wait for Sammy to "do his business" while I stand by, somewhat ill-at-ease, plastic sack in hand. And I do NOT like the image portrayed by the former administrator of the only Lutheran High School in Northeast Nebraska walking the neighborhoods of Northwest Norfolk, carrying plastic sacks of dog doo-doo. That could, of course, just be my foolish pride.]
          "Animals can get our minds off of our problems. A person could do an activity with their pet or other animals that will give them a fresh perspective on things." [A plastic bag filled w/dog doo-doo is certainly a fresh perspective of something or other. Maybe this belongs more appropriately in one of my Theological Thursday blogs, as an example of how God is continuing to use my "sabbatical" to humble me?!]
* Post-script. DNA testing did, in fact, confirm, that both the mother bear & her cubs consumed the remains of the hiker, thereby also confirming that the mother bear more than likely killed the hiker. The mother bear was euthanized, keeping with Yellowstone National Park Policy. It's behavior was characterized as "not normal." Apparently a zoo offered to adopt the two bear cubs, so their lives were spared. Naturally there was a huge outcry objecting to the death penalty enacted against this innocent creature. Some blamed the hiker, who (a) was trespassing in the bear's realm; & (b) was not taking the necessary precautions, i.e., was not carrying bear spray. If I follow the logic here, the death penalty for the hiker was justifiable.

I continue to be all-too enamored [obsessed?] w/my analogy of walking the dog & the dog posting on Facebook. 

On WED 8/12, for example, Sammy & I headed off for our Skyview Lake odyssey at 11:30. I'm not sure of the distance traveled. We didn't make it back to the house until 12:15, but consider the following.

• Sammy paused & left over 30 "messages," if you catch my drift, thereby possibly nullifying any aerobic advantages I may be getting from such walks.
• Sometimes he eagerly rushes to a "site," i.e., a power pole for example, & leaves a significant message, i.e., what I interpret to be a fascinating site that warrants an equally fascinating comment.
• Sometimes he barely glances at a site, for example a hydrant, as we glide past it, disdaining to even stop & check it out. I interpret this as a site not worthy of his time & effort.
• What to make of a site where he thoroughly checks it out, leaves a comment, then walks a few paces before vigorously scratching up the sod w/his hind paws? Is this his way of erasing another dog's comments? Is this his way of showing his scorn? Is it just plain good dog hygiene? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?
• Then there's the matter of the comments he makes by way of, how shall I put it delicately, leaving a #2? Is this like a "mega" comment? Am I over-thinking [obsessing over] this phenomena?

Several more thoughts before I move on from the walking the dog/Facebook analogy that I am so proud of.

• I am genuinely sorry for the comment he left at the tree donated by the Birch family along the hiker-biker trail at Skyview Lake the other day, especially if this is the family of Dr. Larry Birch, our former family physician. I have a great deal of respect for this man, & I did my best to forestall Sammy's disrespect, but all was for naught. [I temporarily lost my focus & allowed Sammy just a little too much slack.]
• In case anyone has seen Sammy leave any comments of any nature on or along the Bel Air Public School Property & recognized me as the former administrator of Lutheran High Northeast, please know that I mean no sign of disrespect to public schools, & I ALWAYS pick up Sammy's "mega" comments, if you know what I mean.
• After our 2nd walk to Skyview Lake, which inspired me to keep track of how many comments Sammy made during today's walk, I also had the thought that it would be fascinating to keep track of the locations of all his stops, just to try to discern a pattern, you know, like conducting an empirical research project. How many forays onto the grass? How many stops at power poles, hydrants, traffic signs, slowly moving pedestrians? You know what I concluded? MAJOR SYMPTOM OF OCD, PAUL!
• Seriously, do you know of anyone else who has ever come up w/the walking a dog/Facebook analogy, because I just can't get over myself, & want credit where credit is due!
• Finally, I still think my grand-daughter's comment while Lois & I were taking Sammy for a walk in Lincoln last week was a brilliant example of creative, higher-order thinking. When we noted that, toward the end of the walk, he was still stopping frequently to make comments, but the length of his comments was growing increasingly shorter, if you know what I mean, Brianna said, "He's running out of data." Hilarious!

Obedience Training

We need to train Sammy to heel. When we encounter another dog in close proximity, or he sees a cat within chasing distance, he reacts poorly. Two sources that I think are reliable * have assured me that a choke collar is the way to go. Really? I'd like some dialogue about that.

* One source is my son-in-law, who is in the Nebraska National Guard. His specialty is Army Intelligence. [emphasis added] The other source is my chiropractor. He's a Dr!]

Dog Trivia
Excerpt from Parade Magazine (8/16):  "The original Rin Tin Tin was discovered as a starving puppy on a WW I battlefield."

Beating a Dead Horse *

I'm thinking that I'm getting a little tired of this blog. I'm also thinking that maybe a better use of my time & talents would be a blog that made use of my 40+ years of training, experience, & insights as a Lutheran educator. I need a catchy, alliterative title, however, so I'm looking for suggestions. How about LOL Educator? **

* Nothing like overdoing the cliches today, huh?

** "Looney Old Lutheran" Educator?