Good Dog. Stay.

Mom read this book last weekend and although she liked it, it made her sad. She said that the book reminded her that I am getting older and that I won't live forever. Duh! Of course I won't live forever. Nothing lives forever. Of course Mom knows this, but as I get older I am starting to slow down. One day I will slow down so much that I will stop.

Good Dog. Stay. is by one of Mom's favorite authors Anna Quindlen. This book is a quick read and is half text, half pictures. The story is about Quindlen's dog Beau and the impact he made on the Quindlen family. Even though Beau is not a pug (he's a Labrador Retriever) you fall in love with him through the stories Quindlen tells about him, from the puppy years through the years of playing with the kids. I have met some Labs throughout the years and they are really good dogs. They are good with kids, friendly, obedient, and smart. Pugs are all these things too plus we are good eaters.

Not all the pictures in the book are of Beau and in fact most are not. They are just pictures of regular dogs doing what dogs do. I find it very interesting that there were no pictures of pugs in the book, but this may have been a slight oversight by the author and/or publisher. I do not take this oversight personally, however, the book would have sold more copies had a pug been featured. This is just my opinion, but feel free to agree with me.

Beau taught Quindlen many things during his almost fifteen year life like to roll with the punches (check), to take things as they come (check), and to measure herself not in terms of the past or the future but of the present (Mom needs to be able to check this). I am always telling Mom that she could learn so much from me. I am not one to fret about things I have no control over, I embrace each day like the new adventure it is, and I always keep an open mind. These things are keys to a successful, stress-free life. Live like a pug and you will live a good life.

In the end, Beau's body just won't do what he wants it to. He can't hear, can't see, and he has a hard time getting around the house. The vet is called to the house and they put him down. Quindlen talks a lot about this phrase and about what it really means. She decides that it is the best term for the end of a dog's life and I think I agree.

I think that Quindlen summed it up best when she wrote “The life of a good dog is like the life of a good person, only shorter and more compressed." I will not live forever and I am okay with that. While I am here I know that it is my responsibility to teach everyone about how to be a good steward of Mother Earth, to teach everyone that it's okay to chill out and relax a little, and to show the world that pugs are the best dogs. I teach you these things and I ask you to pass them on. Pay it forward. Be at peace with who you are because I like being me and I like you just as you are.