Release!

Hello friends! This week has been a bit strange in my house. My hoomans decided to bring a live tree IN DOORS! At first I thought they might be losing it, but then my hooman started putting all kinds of delicious treats under it. So I decided, “who am I to judge?”. Almost every day this week, my hooman came home with some sort of tasty surprise and put it under the tree. 

As I was sniffing out the situation…I discovered new squeaky balls, a big box of milk bones, and a GIANT bag of kibble. I knew I was a good boy – but man almighty I must have been extra good to deserve all these amazing treats!

This strange behavior continued as my hooman dug through my toy basket. She washed squeaky balls I no longer play with, packed them up, and put them by our back door. Well, since those are MY toys, I decided I would just go and unpack that box. 

I tiptoed into the mudroom to retrieve my pink spiky ball. As I was busy retrieving, I knocked over a box of milk bones. CRASH! I was busted. My hooman rushed in to discover me with my snout in the box. I quickly snatched my ball and hightailed it outta there.  

She caught me in the living room. “Release!”, she commanded me to drop the ball. “Nope”, I decided. “Release!”, she said again – a bit louder this time. “Ummm…not gonna do it lady”, I thought. “Jack – RELEASE!”, she demanded with a bit of anger in her tone. Now, I know when my hooman uses my name in a command – she is not playin. But I was not giving up. This is MY ball. So I clamped down and gave her my best puppy eyes. I can be serious too.

Then my hooman sat down next to me. I thought for sure she was going to try and trick me and pry the ball out of my mouth, but she surprised me. Instead, she told me a story about a dog named Buster.

Buster is a shelter dog. He has been living at the animal shelter for almost four years. He is smart and silly and very kind, only Buster has not had any luck getting adopted. Nobody knows for certain how Buster ended up in the shelter, but what we do know is that he really likes spiky balls (exactly like mine). So my hooman thought since Buster doesn’t have a family to buy him toys, we could help make Buster a bit happier this Christmas if we gave him the toys I no longer play with.

I had to think about this. I wandered over to the delicious treats under the tree. I do have quite a bit of tasty goodness there. Then my hooman told me all those treats are for the shelter dogs too! Whaaaat?! This was very upsetting news. Not only was I supposed to give up my toys but NONE of the tasty treats were mine to enjoy. 

My hooman then told me that there are quite a few canines at the shelter that are waiting to be adopted. Some animals do not have families yet. The idea made me sad. All of a sudden, I wanted to help Buster and his friends. It was hard giving up my toys and the thought of all those tasty morsels – but once I found the courage to release my toys it made it easier to give up the treats. The idea of helping Buster be a bit happier at Christmas time along with all the other shelter dogs – somehow made me happier too. 

So friends, as we go into the final stretch of preparing for the holiday season, find the courage to release some things for those in need. It doesn’t have to be much. Maybe you have something you no longer use that you could give to someone who may need it more than you. Take it from me, once you find the spirit of giving you will be pleasantly surprised how much joy you will receive in return. And really – isn’t that what Christmas is all about? 

Enjoy the season of giving and I will bark at you soon!

Your friend, 

P.S. Many animal shelters are nonprofit organizations and rely on support from the community. If you are feeling called to give – consider supporting your local shelter and helping out my friends like Buster. The shelter I came from is Bellwether Harbor and they are also in need of support if you would like to help!