Day 1291

Gus taught me an important lesson today… “You can lead a horse to water (a dog to a car), but you can’t make it drink (jump in the car)! After our visit to Walker this morning, Gus refused to jump in the back of our car. I coaxed, I bribed, I offered alternative doors, I tried to lift… he was not amused. In his defense, it was incredibly frigid and his little paws were cold. My final plan was to retreat back into the building and call the cavalry (Mac). My wonderful husband drove down and, together, we lifted our big guy into the car and headed home.

I have certainly been humbled in this way before with my own children. Who hasn’t watched a toddler slink to the ground in defiance or had a teenager question your edict? Perhaps, I have had more than my share of confrontations because of my dislike of conflict. My philosophy is, “Can’t everyone simply get along?!?!?" The answer to that question can sometimes be a resounding “NO!”

Alternatives exist such as reasoning, explaining or grabbing those teachable moments. For Gus, none of those were going to work today. His feet were frozen and he was not going to jump!

For parents, pet owners or any other relationship you might have, my advice is to have some sort of backup plan. In any stalemate, both parties can lose, one can win (leaving the other diminished) or both can win! I vote for the last! Compromise is always a winner in my book.

Today, Gus was successfully loaded with the help of my own personal “John Wayne” and we arrived home to a warm home. That was my win-win for the day! Also, as soon as my fingers warmed up, they got on Amazon and ordered doggy booties for my Golden Boys!