I wrote a post a
while ago about our two dogs, Bailey and Stella. Bailey, our Golden Retriever,
is up in age now and is the undisputed matriarch of our family. She was a sort
of rescue dog. Shy, timid to the point where sudden movements or noise would
send her cowering and shaking to a corner somewhere. Didn’t bark or make any
noise for the first month or so. So gentle, though. Loving and while she barks
at doorbells or when the garage door opens, she would rather lick you to death
than bite you.
Stella, on the
other hand . . .
We don’t know what
breed she is exactly. Has a bit of Beagle in her, maybe some Lab, but she’s on
the short, small side and feisty. Oh, is she feisty!
Some guy, at some
point in her short history, must have been abusive. When we first got her from
a rescue site, all I would get from her was a growl or a bark. I would enter
the room and she would either bark or more likely growl, and then leave.
Wherever I was, Stella wasn’t. I could offer her food and the only way she’d
take it would be if I placed it on the ground. It’s been two years and Stella
will still not let me put a leash on her. That’s problematic for a whole host
of reasons!
It’s been a little
over two years now and there have been some changes.
On a good day,
Stella will take food from my hand. At night, if Kim, Emily or Hannah are
around, she will actually let me pet her, but I have to do it slowly and
gently, and she always has to have an eye on me. Always. The trust is fragile
at best.
Lately, at about
nine each night, Stella bounces in front of Kim for a nightly walk. After, she
comes into the family room, catches my eye and begins to bark at me. Not at
Kim. Not at Hannah. Not at Emily. At me.
But . . .
Her tail wags. She
gets down in a “pounce-ready” position and if I don’t move, she continues to
bark.
Bailey comes to my
rescue and positions herself between the two of us, protectively. Kind of
unsettling, if you think about it.
Many times, I’ll
get off the couch and sit on the floor and begin petting Bailey. When I do,
Stella comes around, growls a bit, maybe barks a little, but I get to pet her
too.
When it’s time for
bed, either Kim or I will say, “Let’s go to bed!” and Stella will scramble up
the stairs to our bedroom and enter her cage and lay down. Generally, I lay
down on the floor and I pet her, talk quietly to her, and I think, all is well.
We’re getting there . . .
Only to wake up
the following morning and Stella is right back to her cranky, frightened self
and she greets me with a bark or a growl or both. So, we start over. And it’s
been two years!
Lessons From
Stella . . .
Stella is kind of
like that one kid who sits in the back of a classroom. Belligerent, maybe a bit
hostile. Maybe that kid who is quiet, who won’t raise a hand to volunteer an
answer. That kid, who most certainly won’t ask a question.
Stella is kind of
like that one kid who walks down the hallway and when greeted, might but
probably won’t, acknowledge you. Maybe pretend not to hear you. Maybe even
glare at you.
Stella is kind of
like that one kid who won’t put away the cell when you ask the class to do so.
Instead, escapes with it . . . from you, from others, from whatever frightens
him or her, from whatever pain might be in his or her life.
Stella is kind of
like that one kid who wants desperately to take that bit of food, that bit of
knowledge, that bit of kindness from your hand, but is so afraid to do so
because it might be withdrawn as it was in the past, or because the hand might
hurt, or mostly, because it shows his or her vulnerability and perceived
weakness.
Stella is kind of
like that one kid who will warm up to you one day and not talk to you the next.
Who is friendly and might even smile one minute and in the next, might
disrespect and defy you.
Stella is kind of
like that one kid . . .
And as easy as it
would be to ignore and give up on Stella . . . or that one kid . . . we dare
not, because in the end, I . . . we . . . might be all Stella or that one kid
has. As easy as it would be to write that referral or to absolutely lose our
temper and use all those educated, sarcastic, and hurtful words on him or her,
or Stella, we can’t, because that is where Stella and that one kid came from
and goes home to each afternoon, each night.
So, each morning,
like I do with Stella . . . like we do with that one kid . . . we begin again.
We start over. Like I do with Stella . . . like we do with that one kid . . .
we start over in the hope that we can break through the facade, remove the mask,
and have a real, honest relationship.
That’s the Lesson
From Stella.
To never give up.
To never give in. No matter how hard it might be, no matter how little time we
might have, to let Stella . . . to let that one kid . . . know we’re there,
we’re ready. That no matter what, we’ll be kind instead of mean. We’ll be
gentle instead of hurtful. We’ll accept instead of reject. Each day. Each
morning (and afternoon and evening). Each classroom (and family room). Stella,
and that one kid. Something to think about . . .
Live Your Life,
and Make A Difference!
To My Readers:
I finished my
fifth work of thriller/suspense fiction,
Caught in a Web and I’ll keep you
posted as to when it will be published. While we wait, I am busy having fun
with my sixth, Spiral Into Darkness,
and I’m more than 49,000 words into it.
Please feel free
to connect with me at:
Twitter at
@jrlewisauthor
Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
If you like Thriller/Suspense fiction, check out my
novels:
Available on Amazon for .99 the Lives Trilogy Prequel,
Taking Lives:
FBI Agent Pete
Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys
left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they don’t know
one another, the lives of FBI Agent Kelliher and two boys become interwoven
with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them
are on a collision course and when that happens, their lives are in jeopardy as
each search for a way out. http://bit.ly/Taking-Lives-JLewis
Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy:
Two thirteen year
old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and his team of FBI
agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all the others- dead!
They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the possibility exists
that one of his team members might be involved. http://bit.ly/Stolen-Lives-JLewis
Shattered
Lives, Book Two of the Lives Trilogy:
A 14 year old boy
stands in the kitchen pointing a gun at his uncle. There are many reasons for
him to pull the trigger. Mainly, he had started it all. http://bit.ly/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis
Splintered Lives, Book Three of the Lives Trilogy:
A 14 year old boy is willing to make the
ultimate sacrifice. High up on an Arizona mesa, he faces three desperate and
dangerous men in hopes of saving his father and his brothers. http://bit.ly/Splintered-Lives-J-Lewis
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Thank you for your comment. I welcome your thought. Joe