Our dogs: Alcides (seated) and Hugo (standing)
It is such a very rewarding experience to be able to raise two cute Labrador Retrievers, both emotionally and educationally.
I admit that at first we decided to take them as new members of our family because we found them cute. We were very unaware of the huge challenges raising dogs can present, particularly high energy dogs like Labrador Retrievers or Labs for short.
And when I talk about challenges, I am not only talking about the financial burden having dogs can offer (e.g. dog food, veterinary visits, dog toys and accessories, etc.). But more importantly, I would like to emphasize the emotional readiness needed in raising dogs.
A dog is not a furniture that you can just leave in your yard to kill lots of time all day long. A sleep-and-eat lifestyle is the last thing on earth a dog would like. Mind you, a dog would find more joy in dying in a war while helping his/her human companion in the battlefields than to live a day in his/her life doing nothing but watch the clouds pass by.
A dog therefore needs more than just food and water. More importantly, it needs quality time from his/her human companion.
And for yours truly who is working in Makati in a pretty unholy shift (3:30 am-12:30pm) and resides outside the National Capital Region, it is indeed a huge challenge to give my dogs the quality time they need.
Yet thank Heaven and Earth, I was able to provide my furkids with the time and love that they need. As I have implied in my previous post, it is just all pure will power and old-fashioned hard work.
But let me stress that it's not just all work as far as raising my dogs are concerned. Of course, they give us a lot of priceless things in return. I feel like they rewarding us for all the care that we gave to them. And in my case, what I treasure most is I learned a lot of precious things from them, things that I only used to brush off when I was a lot younger.
Ask any seasoned dog owner out there, and they will all tell you that one of the greatest things a dog can teach you is patience. Yes, PATIENCE. Oh dear, my very good mom knows how many seconds it would take for me to lose my temper. Same goes to my wife. I admire these two women for the patience they showed on me for my very lack of that virtue. Aheheheh! But let me tell you, my dogs taught me to just laugh things off. So what if they chewed my socks again!? =D
But the most important thing my dogs taught me is that every great blessing comes with great obligation. The academic world has made us believe countless times that we must work hard to receive blessings. Yeah, that's true... but that's not just it. My dogs taught me a lot more than that. They taught me that when we receive blessings, we must work harder! Why!? Because blessings may be happy outcomes but they aren't happy endings. Whether it is a very good job offer, a beautiful girl who finally gave you her sweet "yes", or an angelic newborn baby, we must work harder to nurture these blessings so they can blossom into something bigger, something more beautiful, and something more meaningful. Blessings should never be treated as graduation day. Rather, they must be treated as the first day in class, or should I say "first day high"... wow pare... nyahahahah!
It touches my heart everytime people tell me that our furkids are such beautiful dogs because I and my wife know the fact that these kids didn't grow overnight. Their current cuteness is a product of a long history of hard work and dedication. What's more amusing to realize is the fact that we are just getting started, and these furkids still have a very long way to go as far as cuteness is concerned!
I admit that at first we decided to take them as new members of our family because we found them cute. We were very unaware of the huge challenges raising dogs can present, particularly high energy dogs like Labrador Retrievers or Labs for short.
And when I talk about challenges, I am not only talking about the financial burden having dogs can offer (e.g. dog food, veterinary visits, dog toys and accessories, etc.). But more importantly, I would like to emphasize the emotional readiness needed in raising dogs.
A dog is not a furniture that you can just leave in your yard to kill lots of time all day long. A sleep-and-eat lifestyle is the last thing on earth a dog would like. Mind you, a dog would find more joy in dying in a war while helping his/her human companion in the battlefields than to live a day in his/her life doing nothing but watch the clouds pass by.
A dog therefore needs more than just food and water. More importantly, it needs quality time from his/her human companion.
And for yours truly who is working in Makati in a pretty unholy shift (3:30 am-12:30pm) and resides outside the National Capital Region, it is indeed a huge challenge to give my dogs the quality time they need.
Yet thank Heaven and Earth, I was able to provide my furkids with the time and love that they need. As I have implied in my previous post, it is just all pure will power and old-fashioned hard work.
But let me stress that it's not just all work as far as raising my dogs are concerned. Of course, they give us a lot of priceless things in return. I feel like they rewarding us for all the care that we gave to them. And in my case, what I treasure most is I learned a lot of precious things from them, things that I only used to brush off when I was a lot younger.
Ask any seasoned dog owner out there, and they will all tell you that one of the greatest things a dog can teach you is patience. Yes, PATIENCE. Oh dear, my very good mom knows how many seconds it would take for me to lose my temper. Same goes to my wife. I admire these two women for the patience they showed on me for my very lack of that virtue. Aheheheh! But let me tell you, my dogs taught me to just laugh things off. So what if they chewed my socks again!? =D
But the most important thing my dogs taught me is that every great blessing comes with great obligation. The academic world has made us believe countless times that we must work hard to receive blessings. Yeah, that's true... but that's not just it. My dogs taught me a lot more than that. They taught me that when we receive blessings, we must work harder! Why!? Because blessings may be happy outcomes but they aren't happy endings. Whether it is a very good job offer, a beautiful girl who finally gave you her sweet "yes", or an angelic newborn baby, we must work harder to nurture these blessings so they can blossom into something bigger, something more beautiful, and something more meaningful. Blessings should never be treated as graduation day. Rather, they must be treated as the first day in class, or should I say "first day high"... wow pare... nyahahahah!
It touches my heart everytime people tell me that our furkids are such beautiful dogs because I and my wife know the fact that these kids didn't grow overnight. Their current cuteness is a product of a long history of hard work and dedication. What's more amusing to realize is the fact that we are just getting started, and these furkids still have a very long way to go as far as cuteness is concerned!
Hugo makes his usual noble 'guard dog sit' as Alcides relaxes near the stairs
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