Lessons Learned from 7 Years with Auggie Doggie

    My family and I had a fun time together yesterday. We looked at pictures from the past years and retold stories. We celebrated what we call Auggie's "Gotcha Day." Seven years ago on August 6, my family went out to middle-of-nowhere-Alabama, also known as Luverne, Alabama, to welcome a puppy into our family. Inspired by a book I just started reading, here are some lessons learned from our Boston Terrier, Auggie. 

    The first is that you should learn to appreciate God's beautiful creation. Auggie loves to lay out in the grass to savor the wonderful sunshine. I've always looked at Auggie being outside and thought that somehow, he knows that he loves being outside because of the One who created the environment... Okay, maybe not. I'm not sure... But either way, I've definitely learned to soak in the sunshine more.

    It's okay to cry every now and then, but know that the nearest caring creature will want to comfort you and make sure you are okay. Yes, I said creature. Auggie is (and might always be while he still lives) our emotional support dog "in-training". If he's nearby when one us if crying or just upset, he will come close to us and demonstrate that he thinks you should pet him so we can feel better. ...but if it's just too much emotion and chaos, he'll just leave the room. That's simply too for him to handle. He's still in progress. The real life application to this silly thing about Augger (one of his many random names...) is that if you are feeling down and upset and a good friend knows about it, know that you'll always have a shoulder to lean on. 

    

    We are so thankful for Auggie. He is definitely a lot to deal with at times... He bothers us at the worst times, wanting us to play with him or walk him even when we just walked him... He isn't very nice to other dogs on walks... But he brings our family together when we play with him, throwing the ball back and forth with Auggie in the middle. The sweet times with him remind us of how great it is that we get to have this little dude in our family. 

    P.S. Luke had some great thoughts on lessons we've learned. I didn't include them here because they just don't seem to fit with my blog. I was reminded that he needs to write his own blog! He is great at writing and loves to do it! Leave a comment below if you agree that he should start a blog. 

~Kthnxbai!