A Pet named Grief

#217

Friend,

Many years ago we rescued a dog.

He was excitable, cute, and needed a good home.

Like most rescue dogs, he had also experienced trauma and grief. Of course, we didn’t just know what had happened to him, and we didn’t know how what happened to him would impact him.

So when something surprised him (and it could be many things!), then he reacted as one who had been hurt before. It seems to me that dogs operate a lot like us when we experience fear. They are either prone to fight (bark, growl, etc) or flight (hide and retreat).

We should have named him Grief.

Because this is all of us. We are all rescued dogs as adults. We’ve experienced trauma, grief, abuse, or neglect. And we are still reacting to it. Something surprises us and triggers us, and we react like a surprised rescued dog.

You don’t expect a rescue dog to just “be ok.” You don’t expect the protective instinct to just stop because they have a new environment. That would be ridiculous. Instead, you have to displace the fear reaction with intentional training through an environment of safety, care, and patience.

And that’s the same with you.

Love,

Aaron