Kennel.

One word, a conditioned response. A family ravaged by smell. Our dog Athena, a 4-year-old husky, is a unique individual. Though she is technically still a dog, she is more like a sister to our daughter, a second bratty sibling. She shoves our daughter down to get food, competes with her for attention, talks to us in a way that we swear is demeaning us and our life choices. If you walk in the door or wake up in the morning and fail to acknowledge her first, she becomes upset and lets out a grumble and a low howl. She takes her food and scatters it all over the floor, demands walks when you put your shoes on.  

To be fair, she is sweet as well. She cuddles when upset, is kind to our daughter when she falls on her, despite the falling occurring due to Athena’s unwillingness to move. She is a handful, and has a mentality unlike what one would expect from a normal dog. She gets her way through straight lack of care or concern for others, desires head of the pack and at one time the American Kennel Club listed Huskies as the “most cunning dog.” I don’t know about you, but cunning is right next to conning, for which many people are under their blue-eyed spell.  

This morning as I woke up for an early session at the gym, I smelt it. I heard her whimper before I got to the basement to let her out. A pawing at the metal kennel door more desperate than usual. Typically, impatience is more of a slow paw, whereas this was fast and more of a pound. My decent down the stairs gradually exposed my olfactory bulbs to a pungent smell, one that can only be fecal matter. She had went to the bathroom in her kennel, a sign of digestion problems. A consequences from the day before where she ate half a large, pizza-cookie. 

Now, within five minutes of my alarm going off, after a bathroom break, changing into clean gym clothes and ensuring the automatic coffee pot was working, I was exposed to a kennel and very hairy dog that has to be cleaned. No matter how many times I wake up early in the morning, for which I have done for years, every morning is a tossup as to if I will actually go to the gym or not. After all, if I go and am just drained all day because of it, was that really in my best interest? Not only was the tiredness a factor, but now there is a dirty kennel and poor creature covered in this liquid mess (poor no matter how cunning she is). So, instead of absorbing the situation all at once, I break it down into one step at a time. Instead of doing all things at once I decide to get her outside, and finish my routine for the gym.
 
After the gym, I am a little more prepared to handle this dirty kennel. Now with the little break in processing I was able to start right in on my cleaning. I grab some spray and some Clorox wipes and go to town. Jumping elbows deep into a kennel of liquid, um, stuff. Immediately I do some damage to the mess and the thought hits me. Instead of feeling resentment or any anger towards her, I start laughing. The possibility of her doing this, on purpose, for me to clean her kennel, revealed as a viable possibility. This seems unrealistic, however due to this tendency of humans giving character traits to animals, I see her cunningness come out in this way. I can see her thoughts as she plots a way for me to clean her kennel. She remembers that when she was a puppy she would crap herself all the time and my wife or I would clean her and the kennel. So, I would not put it past her to plan on this to force me to clean her kennel and put it up to her high "princess" standard. 

This, all day, no longer a unique and funny Youtube clip. 

Now, to some, this fantasy lacks purpose. After all, no matter the reason, she did it, and I have to clean it up. However, for me it took the resentment away. Serving as a catalyst for a positive change. Instead of being negative, a natural “go-to” for me, I was able to grab onto something that helped me get out of “why did this happen to me” and instead get into “She probably planned this.” This second thought, this practiced skill, is something I can apply to all situations.  For example, Watching the news and seeing people protest in some way. My natural “go-to” is a negative one degrading what someone else believes because it is not my own. Instead, I can appreciate the fact that people don’t let something they disagree with go by unacknowledged. They stand up for what they believe in and are catching all the backlash for it. I appreciate and respect people who are genuine and follow this feeling into consequence.  This wasn’t a black and white, a go from positive to negative change. Instead, it was me, working on being a better person and finding what worked. 

Telling someone to be more positive is like telling a blender to cook toast. The concepts are independent from product to intended use. Instead, telling a blender to help make bread is a smoother transition into the final destination of toast. Find what works for you, find what way of thinking will help you get out of your own head and ultimately reduce your stress and negative outlook on life.  

God Bless.