Wednesday, December 21, 2011

My way of thinking/ Charlie and his sweater

Charlie, his blue sweater, and his ball.  I would never have imagined writing such a post, but this strikes me as funny!  When Charlie entered our lives more than five years ago, he was an angry little boy.  He pretty much hated people, except for us, and he hated dogs, except for Roxy.  What to do?


I decided to try love therapy.  That means that I didn't try to teach him commands.  Instead I gave him all the love I had to give.  He got pets, kisses, and learned to accept belly rubs.  He slowly was introduced to other people.  Then to other dogs.  Now Charlie has never met a person or another dog he doesn't like. He learned to love by being loved.  Imazing how that works.


Ok. Now Charlie has fallen in love with his blue sweater.  He has toys but prefers his tennis ball.  He admires himself in the store windows on his walks.  Don't try to remove his sweater if you value your hand.  I made him loving but he has developed his own sense of vanity.  His love wakes me in the morning.  He knows that sunrise is important so he feels responsible for getting me up, even if he thinks sunrise is at 3am.  He lives a life of joy and love.  I will take some credit.  Much credit to Jon and Roxy.  Most credit to the power of love!


Just wanted to remind my friends of the power of love.  What we give is what we tend to receive.  Just don't forget that if you give someone a ball and a blue sweater, don't expect to get it back!


                                          Peace and Love,


                                             Austin/Bill

5 comments:

  1. Charlie is the cutest, in his blue sweater and his ball. Thanks for sharing his story, and also for sharing your love and affection with this worthy relatives. Wonderful post, William, and a joyous Christmas to you and Jon, and your four legged family! Laura

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  2. Laura, in case I don't get the chance, Merry Christmas to you and yours. Thank you for remaining my friend all these years.

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  3. I remarked on this on the FB link, but just reread this again so thought I would respond here as well. Once again you published a heartwarming story that gives me such
    pleasure to read. Charlie is adorable, and your picture captured beautifully the feel of the story. Great choice of illustration my friend! I can't wait for your next post!

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  4. Thank you Sandy! Since you know the real Charlie, your comment is all the sweeter!

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  5. Scrolled down to catch up on a few posts and came across this one. Quite delightful--that blue sweater is both adorable and hilarious. Hey, I have favorite outfits, so why shouldn't a dog? The message is lovely, and the training approach (the loving approach) is really worth thinking about.

    Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

    Judy Stone-Goldman
    The Reflective Writer
    http://www.thereflectivewriter.com
    Personal-Professional Balance Through Writing

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