In the past year or so I have taken up a new hobby, dog agility, (what happens when middle aged people adopt a puppy that grows up to be a Border Collie). Two weeks ago I took her on a road trip to an agility trial, not our first but we're still pretty green to this. At first she did great in her novice class but as we kept doing various runs her brakes started failing at the end of them, she would do the run but then get so excited it was hard to catch her. This ended in her brakes going out completely and her becoming the LOOSE DOG every time. She would complete the run then bolt out into the audience with people yelling "LOOSE DOG" and other dogs barking, people trying to catch her and CHAOS!!!!! It got so bad that we would approach the line for our turn and they would yell "Layla's next" and people would close in around the ring preparing for the loose dog to come! She got disqualified from a very nice run for this, not to mention CHAOS!!!

BUT, the people were kind to us, they made suggestions (too many, but they were trying). I asked the lady who organized the trail if I should take my dog home and she said "NO, we want to help people become successful at this". People were kind. Finally someone had the idea that perhaps the leash runner should bring me my leash behind her back when we finished a run and sneak it to me. We tried it, Layla sat down right in front of me and let me put it on her. The audience erupted and cheered, even though it was a HORRIBLE run with me forgetting where we were going dreading the end and catching my dog.

It was unreal. We had blown out in a flaming mess, but everybody tried to help us and they succeeded. The end of the day brought more good results since Layla did really good after that, even coming close to "qualifying" in a run called "chances" that requires the human to guide her dog from a distance. I kept thinking "is that MY DOG doing everything I tell her WAY OVER THERE?"

I am grateful to get help, accept it, and succeed. And I'm grateful that I am finally barely starting to learn not to run off and hide when I feel like I've totally blown something, but to keep trying. Finally.

You -- by yourself -- and now with adorable Layla by your side are two sparks that bring me joy. Truly.

I love your stories, GTRO!

awesome story! i love the idea of a dog being so happy to play that it can't stop, agitating chaos into all the other dogs to... be just dogs!

it's good she's getting better, but oh those will be halcyon memories. sometimes things need to be shaken up to release real growth. your dog is the ice breaker people and dogs needed, with her and her 'loose motions.'

The fact that there is such a thing brings me joy. And curating inspiring stories for www.ourcollectivegood.com and the Facebook page, Curate Good, brings me joy as well.



READ MORE ABOUT the Int'l Day of Happiness here: http://dayofhappiness.net/


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RELATED LINKS:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frances-moore-lappe/got-happiness-first-un-in_b_2909084.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/happy-happiness-day_b_2915962.html

I see them about and admire your tireless altruism. I'm poor as a church mouse. But I support you in theory.

You keep reminding people of good to do, that's important.

happy happy, joy joy!
happy happy, joy joy!

and to think governments are looking to add such studied 'happiness quotients' to, hopefully, in the future, holistically assess policy is remarkable! very The Onion-esque, but sometimes the reality-madness machine spits out good results, too!

so happy happiness day!

I often walk around singing "Happy, happy, joy, joy" (though usually in a sarcastic way, after something has gone wrong...lol).

Thanks for educating me!

And while the circle was open, we were asked to say what new thing we wanted to integrate into our lives. I thought about H20's fire and ice essay that is currently up in GD, and so I adlib'ed an extemporanious speech about staying in the here and now, feeling more love about everything and letting go of fear.

It must have made sense because the attorney in our group used my thoughts as a jumping off spot for her wish to stay present and not let fear dictate her life, as well.

One guy, talked about not being "mystified" any more. How he was mystified by other drivers and how could they be so stupid and do such crazy things. He said, no more confusion and being confounded with fury. He was going to accept these maniac drivers as they are, accept and admit that they just are stupid and stop being, 'mystified'.

I thought it was funny and a bit of a lesson.

There were a few more. And we closed the circle.

don't sit there and take life's shit, let it pass through you...

(it's also how i come to peace about dealing with bad drivers, too. i think, with much magnanimity when accepting their bad driving, that they are probably barely holding it all in and rushing to get to the nearest bathroom. then a great wave of compassion wells within me for their, and their upholstery's, plight. think of the poor 'slaughtered velours -- or pleathers' being sacrificed only to have their pelts so tragically ruined...)

You are cracking me up this morning...

trees budding out, seeing the beautiful pink blossoms of the flowering quince and the bright yellow of daffodils, and watching the dogs sleeping in the sun, cats rolling on the warm pavement in the driveway. It's SPRINGTIME!!!

Mr Howler and I used to play Dungeons and Dragons The name I use here is actually based on a successful werewolf fighter character I played named Zevon. snort! I also had a very strong Chaotic neutral character named Eclipse that I played for several years. She leaned towards evil and was a blast to play!!!

Love the humor you put into your writing this post Nutty Fluffers!

Love, Laughing, Lazy days reading....

Harmonizing with one of your favorite songs, and getting it....

SO SPOT ON-TIGHT!

What a fright!

For your awesome self!