Trust is a Beautiful Thing

A beautiful thing happened this week at Agility class. 

Juno trusted me. 

She trusted me to lead her safely and into no harm.  

She trusted me so much that she willingly ran into something 

that she would probably never had done alone. 

I was touched. I was honored. 

“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.” - George MacDonald

So many people fret about whether their pets love them or not. 

Spoiling them, fawning over them. 

Becoming upset when their dear pet runs away from home. 

But I thought he loved me! Why would he leave?

Some people believe that to receive the love 

of these wondrous creatures of ours is 

the greatest joy of all.

I disagree.

I have felt love. 

I have felt the love and adoration of many creatures,

but it will never compare to earning the trust of another being.

"Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks." - Isaac Watts

Animals give us their love for free.

They give us their love and ask nothing in turn.

They give love to those that do not deserve it.

But the reserve their trust for those that earn it.

This week at agility Juno was faced with a difficult decision.

You see, I asked her run into a tunnel that was so curved,

all she could see when looking is was a tunnel wall.

I asked her this after just barely convincing her to run through a straight tunnel.

I asked her this without any introduction to the new obstacle.

I asked, and she trusted.

Juno began to run into the tunnel as I ran by 

but then realized there was no light at the end.

She stopped and pulled her head out,

watching me continue to run away from her.

Those few seconds were filled with a heavy decision.

The tunnel was dark, there was no end in sight.

I was running ahead, expecting to meet Juno at the end.

Juno thought about running around to meet me at the end.

She had done that before to avoid going in the straight tunnel.

But then she looked back into the tunnel that I asked her to run into.

Could it really be that bad?

It was only a few seconds but it seemed like forever 

as Juno looked at me, then looked at the tunnel.

To me.

To the tunnel.

Me.

Tunnel.

Me or tunnel.

The decision was made.

Juno ducked her head and ran with full confidence into the darkness.

She trusted my decision. 

Would I ever lead her into harm?

She has doubted me much in the past, 

But today she decided that I was worth her trust.

I was worth her trust which is worth much more than her love.

I have had her love for a long time,

But to earn her trust is a triumph in it's own.

A beautiful thing happened this week at Agility class. 

Juno trusted me. 

And I couldn't ask for more.

Whose blog is it anyway?

I think I will just jump right in and introduce myself and my muse. :)

Hi, my name is Trish, and this is my fabulous husky, Juno (aka superman's sidekick.)  Funny thing about Juno and I is that I NEVER wanted a husky!  I didn't understand why people would want to live these uber independant shed machines that have too much energy for their own good.

(But Trish, why on earth would you get a husky when you felt that way?)

Believe me, I did not go looking for a husky, I wasn't even looking for another dog at the time but she just fell into my lap.

I was working as a dog training instructor at a store and a lady came in that had found a sick and starved adolescent husky at a park while jogging. 2 months later, and after many visits to the vet, the dog was (mostly) healthy but REFUSED to go for walks with her.  She had to carry this dog outside to potty and down the sidewalk for fresh air.

After consulting with her, she brought the dog in and I was struck by her kind yet worried eyes.  She was obviously very fearful and unsure in this big bright world. After abut 45 minutes of patient work, I had her following me on leash around the store.  I handed the leash to her new owner and helped them take their first steps together. It was beautiful seeing her able to walk her own dog for the first time.

A couple of days later I was contacted by the client because she was being kicked out of her house due to the destruction this husky had caused to the porch. Pets were not allowed in this house and instead of kenneling the dog, she was let to roam free and ended up eliminating and chewing on the woodwork. The client said she was moving to another place and needed someone to watch her dog for a couple of days.  She was concerned with the progress they were making of putting her in a boarding kennel and so I agreed to watch the dog for her. (The beginning to my downfall)

My now husband received a wonderful voice-mail from me, "Hi honey, please don't be mad, but don't be surprised when you get home if there is a new white dog there.  She is very sweet and I promise, I am just watching her for a couple of days!"  (I think you should assume that you will someday receive a message like this if you willingly go into a relationship with a crazy dog girl!)

As many of you out there probably know, a few days turned into a week, turned into 2 weeks, turned into "Hi, I am not having luck getting a new place and it sounds like she is doing so well at your place.  Would you be interested in keeping her at all? I know you would give her a good home!"

I said yes immediately and that is that. (I really should have discussed this with DH first but I am not here to give out relationship advice)  :)

Living with Juno definitely has it's challenges but the more I get to know her the more I fall in love. For those of you not privileged enough to know the personality traits of these amazing dogs, huskies are very independent and prefer to do what they want, when they want, and you can wait in line.

Juno has been very trying to train positively as she never did care much for toys, treats, or other conventional rewards. It took me almost 6 months to train her to sit (I think a post needs to be dedicated to THAT endeavor!) and longer to down.  She is very sensitive and shuts down if I miss a reward (implying she is wrong).  Being a professional trainer, I feel pressured to teach her tons of fancy tricks (first question I get when doing a presentation "How many tricks does she know?" Erm....she can sit!) But Juno is special and I am just happy that she didn't shut down at the meet and greet last week, and didn't shy away from my husband last night.  I so very much WANT to train all of those fancy tricks but I need to work with the dog I have.

So join Juno and I as we attempt to behave like a normal owner and dog.  It may take some odd routes to achieve our goals but we will get there and hopefully learn a thing or two along the way.

Until we meet again,
Stay Pawsitive!