I came home earlier this evening, after one of the most difficult weeks I've had in a long time, to find my dog missing from the yard. I don't normally leave her outside when I'm not home, but she had gotten into the the cat food earlier, and anyone who has a dog with sensitive digestion knows that the after-affects of such a thing can be quite...unpleasant.
Snickers (the dog), has been my companion and best friend for six years, so the rush of emotion I felt in realizing that she could be suddenly ripped from my life was overwhelming.
If I had checked my messages, either on my home or cell phone, I would have known exactly where she was, but instead I went into a panic, searching the neighborhood, calling and clapping (which usually brings her right back from her infrequent travels). I thought I could hear her barking, but failed to immediately follow the sound.
When I did, however, there she was, less than a block away--tied in a neighbors' yard, where the children were roasting marshmallows out back with a bonfire. Once I collected her and took her back home, I listened to the messages from the neighbor who lives just kitty-corner from me across the canal, yet have never met prior to this. When I called her back to thank her, I couldn't help but be mindful of the fact that I have in the past not thought of my neighborhood as being the most community-oriented, and now I have a reason to question my own assumptions. Perhaps it is I who have not been as 'neighborly' as I could have been...
Lessons in life, gratitude, and community--what better place to learn them, then from a dog?
So, when is the last time you did something nice for one of your neighbors?
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