Most of the time, thankfully, an idea comes to mind for an article. I always credit a much higher power for the idea and the words. It always comes without fail. Today, I was struggling because I was at a loss for words. I was distracted as I’ve had to deal with a couple of unpleasant situations in the last several days. I reached out to a friend for ideas this morning and without hesitation, immediately received what I considered the perfect idea.
It was such an appropriate idea for what I’ve had to deal with the last several days. Although it came in a different way, it was still from the same source above. Happiness. I consider myself a very happy person and I try to share my happiness with others on a daily basis. I live very simply. My life is uncluttered and most of my time is spent outdoors taking in all of God’s creation.
I live stress free, and I absolutely abhor drama of any shape, form or fashion. Sometimes, unfortunately, a big dose of both gets dumped in my lap due to no fault of my own. It irritates me to say the least. I understand though, that these things are necessary for our growth as a human being.
My friend suggested that I write about Lottie, my newest pointer puppy, who is not just plain old every day happy, she is so happy every day. A big smile came across my face, and my mind was flooded with ideas. This puppy, I got for a friend, and she is still under my care. My friend’s wife asked me recently whose puppy it actually was. I said it’s your husbands of course! Ok, maybe it’s ours? At any rate, I’m thankful to have this puppy, along with two of her siblings in my pens. I love them all and all of them are very nice young dogs, but Lottie is special. I knew the first time I ever laid eyes on her. You can see it in her eyes, in her demeanor and certainly in the amount of affection she so freely shares.
She is a black and white pointer, the old folks referred to them as riprap. She is extremely well built and is so graceful on the ground. I look forward to letting her out in the mornings and evenings. She brings me such great joy just watching her run. She knows what she was put on this earth for, it’s truly undeniable. Quail season will soon be open, and we will hopefully be exposing her to wild birds in the coming days. I literally cannot wait!
As I’ve heard my entire life, “she’s good for what ails you”. She’s not the first black and white pointer that I’ve had the privilege to be in the company of. I’ve had several others and they too, were special dogs. They all possessed the same qualities, with happiness on the top of the list. I had not thought of writing about dogs today, but, regardless, here we are.
All of my dogs inspire me to live life as simply and freely as they do. They also constantly remind me to do what I was put on this earth to do and do with a smile on my face. My life would certainly not be the same without the presence of dogs in it. Dogs have taught me much more than I’ve ever dreamed of teaching them.
Jake was one of my favorite dogs ever. He too was painted in that black and white color scheme and had a permanent grin on his face. He could find birds like you would not believe. I’ve watched him point ten coveys in a row on The Rolling Plains of Texas without almost any effort. He had a quality even greater than his bird-finding ability though. He was happy, full of joy and did everything with a smile.
He, too, taught me so much, not necessarily about quail hunting, but life itself. He showed me to live and enjoy oneself on a daily basis. Jake produced a daughter named Pearl who was almost identical to him in every way from her paint job to her ability as a bird dog. Her greatest asset though was the happiness that she displayed and freely shared with us all.
We were hunting on a winter afternoon late in the season one year and Pearl had put on a show like always. She had gotten old and was grey in the face, but her ability and certainly her happiness was as strong as ever. That afternoon she refused to quit hunting; she ignored me when I called her to load up. She kept hunting. Darkness had fallen as I was walking through some broomsedge trying to find her.
I came around a big brush pile and there she was, pointed. It was dark by then and I had to pick her up and tote her back to the buggy. It was almost as if she knew what lay ahead. I talked to her on the way back to the buggy. She smiled and she was happy. That would prove to be her grand finale as she passed away that spring. Her spirit never wavered, and she maintained her happiness until the end.
There are many things that I love that bring me great joy and happiness, but none greater than a bird dog. So, even though we all will have to face some bad days and unpleasant experiences, live like Jake, Pearl and Lottie. Keep a smile on your face, do what you were meant to do and maintain the highest possible level of happiness.
