Sharing is Caring

I was a houseguest friends! My hoomans took me to visit my Great Aunt Kay and my canine cousin Chloe. Chloe is about three times older than me so I knew that this was not going to be the chase-around-the-room kinda visit. Instead, Chloe mostly sleeps… until this last time…

It all started with my favorite pink squeaky ball. Turns out my hooman packed it for the trip and was squeaking it for Chloe! I whined quite loudly about this because it makes me very nervous when my toys are introduced to other canines. My hooman told me to “be nice” and “share my toys”. I do not like to share my toys, so I began to pant and pace. 

My hooman tried to calm me down with treats (I could not eat them – I was too upset). Eventually she gave up and said, “Well Jack, sharing is caring and it’s time that you share your toy”. I was not feeling like sharing or caring, but since I consider myself a good dog, I did as I was told and watched painfully from the couch as Chole began to squeak. It raked my nerves as she carried the ball around the house. With every squeak I became a bit more unraveled. Sharing is hard!

As the day went on, Chloe kept squeaking. Everytime I went to play with the ball, she would jump up and take it before I could get to it. She ended up hiding it in her bed and kept it to herself the rest of the day. I felt like my chest was going to explode in frustration! 

I listened to my hooman laugh at how silly Chloe was with the ball, and began to notice how much fun Chloe was having. She was actually chasing the ball around the room. As I mentioned, Chloe is not a “chase-around-the-room” kinda canine. This was very unusual for her – she must really love that ball!

As I watched her play with my favorite toy, that angry feeling I had inside began to melt. The hoomans were laughing at how cute Chloe was and I have to admit she was pretty adorable. Before I knew it, those annoying squeaks were making me smile too. 

Turns our Chloe loved that ball more than I ever could. She never left it out of her sight. By the time my visit was over, I decided Chloe should keep my pink squeaky ball. I gave it to her because I knew it brought her joy. And ya know what? Giving her that ball brought me joy too!

So friends, as you head into another week – think about how you can spread joy. Find something that you love and share it. It might be kinda hard at first, but just share it and see what happens. You will find that when you share something you love, the joy flows right back to you!

Even though I am home now, I can picture Chloe squeaking that ball and it makes me smile. I wish this feeling for you too – after all sharing is caring right?

Bark at ya next week – your friend ,