Let's Try It Daisy's Way

Be like Daisy

My dog Daisy, (Daisy Doolittle when she is cute, Damnit Daisy when she is not), has a special ability that I believe is pretty rare in the canine world.  She finds treats on almost every daily walk.  Although trash days are fruitful for her, she can find anything on any day to eat while we walk.  And she is quick!  Before I even know what is happening, she is walking along chewing something.  Let me be clear, she accomplishes treat acquisition like 90% of the time.  No other dog I have or have had, has been able to both suss out and snatch up random treats with such efficiency.  I do have to acknowledge that I am not always sure what in the hell she is eating and I most certainly am not in favor of her eating random things she finds, but she is quicker than me, so we must live with the consequences. 

So how does Daisy accomplish such efficient treat acquisition?  She lives a life of expectation.  Every minute of every day, she expects good things.  If I walk into the living room with actual shoes on, she thinks we are going for a walk.  Forget that it is nine o’clock at night and dark outside, she expects a walk.  When I go into the kitchen, she expects that she will get a bite of something, even if I just get a glass of water.  When I put that leash on her and we start on our one mile daily loop that she was just on 24 hours before, she expects that a person, or crow, or trash truck, or something has left a delightful little bit of food, or “food” if you will, meant for her to discover and enjoy.  She knows it is out there, regardless of any evidence to the contrary. 

Daisy is a happy dog.  She is an exuberant dog.  She has had a life that we know little about other than the fact that she was severely neglected and often punished, but taught no real boundaries.  She has been a challenge, this young, energetic girl, for this family of older humans and pets.  We have spent some money and time on training so she could fit in well enough to stay and she has come a long way.  Throughout it all though, as we have tried to break bad habits and teach her new, good habits, she has stayed exuberant.  She has remained optimistic that good things were right around the corner.  She is interested in everything and she expects a treat at every moment of her life.  It isn’t a hope, it is a knowledge she has, the knowledge that something amazing is right in front of her, she just needs to find it.

At this point, you might be saying, “So What, I have met many people in life that are just as optimistic.  None of this is life-changing.”  But, this is only part of what makes Daisy special.  The thing that makes Daisy special is that while she has a constant expectation of treats, she isn’t attached to the outcome.  What I mean is, she expects that treat the whole time we are walking, but if we get home without her having found one to enjoy, she simply lets go of that expectation and moves on to the next one.  She doesn’t curl up in a ball and brood.  She doesn’t look to the sky and ask the universe why.  She doesn’t wonder if she did something wrong to cause her not to be on the list for a treat.  She doesn’t look behind and around her to see if someone stole her treat before she could get to it.  She doesn’t let these unrequited expectations make her bitter or mean or sad or unproductive.  She just accepts that it is and looks for the next great thing. 

I have spent countless hours attempting to not become attached to outcomes.  It never does any good.  It never brings about anything but disappointment and bitterness.  Expecting good things is a great way to live, but being attached to the idea, the vision, of those expectations being met or exceeded….well that can lead to some despair.  And I am telling you, for me anyway, despair is hard enough to avoid based on what is happening in the world around me, I sure as hell don’t need to breed it myself.

Daisy didn’t have a great life before she came to us.  She could just as easily been one to  expect bad things constantly: abuse and neglect and anger and fear.  I don’t know why she expects treats instead, but I absolutely love that she expects treats instead.  More though, I love that when she doesn’t get a treat, she just says “Ok, what great thing is next?  Maybe a treat?”  We should all do it Daisy’s way.  Let’s be like Daisy.