*by Alex Woodard For the Sender Love Is (Not a Feeling)
There’s a difference between letting go and giving up.
Last year we had mudslides and a flood on the heels of a wildfire that came within feet of our house. The flood washed away shoes, lumber, and anything outside that wasn’t nailed down. And some things that were.
To most of us, a small missing soccer ball wouldn’t be a concern. But to Stella, that ball was everything, and when the water took it she searched for days in all of its usual hiding places, until she finally gave up.
Except she didn’t.
A few days ago we were running down the asphalt road, frozen in places and still bound by snow on both sides. We were a couple of miles from home when Stella suddenly took off to my right, disappearing behind the drifts of plow-pushed snow piles. She was heading towards the creek, which had a thin layer of ice still clinging to its surface.
I yelled at her, because I didn’t know just how frozen the creek really was and didn’t want her falling in. A few moments passed and I couldn’t see her, so I started to make my way over the drifts when she almost knocked me over coming back out to the road.
With that soccer ball in her mouth.
It’s the same one, I recognize the scuff marks and small tears around the seams.
I have no idea how that dog found her ball two miles from home, after a flood took it away and a season of frozen winter covered it.
But I do know there’s a difference between letting go and giving up.
*Alex is a good friend of mine. He just released a new book and album of 13 songs For the Sender Love Is (Not a Feeling) I trained Stella a few years back while we were in San Diego CA. I loved training Stella. And amazingly enough, as it turns out when I think back to those days it wasn’t about a feeling, it was about what I did. It was about what she did. Stella’s a lucky dog, her dad is Alex Woodard.
Jt Clough lives in Maui, Hawaii and practices health, happiness, natural remedies and training for dogs and their people. Her uncanny way of communication with both dogs and people is healing and her training is effective physically and emotionally. Her work at Maui Dog Remedies is for people looking to live healthier and happier lives through their dogs and her passion for it has helped so many to find and do that thing they’ve been talking about or wishing to happen for so long. She is a dog whisperer for our best friends and studies natural dog remedies, nutrition and communication. Her latest publications are Pumpkin Dog Food + Treats Recipes and 5K Training Guide | Running with Dogs.
