Only Rocks

Today, my youngest son gave me my Father's Day present. It was a small plastic box with two rocks taped on top. It was no surprise then when I opened the box...it was also full of rocks, different colors, different types. I absolutely loved this gift! For it was so much more than just rocks...it was...the essence of being a little boy.

When I looked at these rocks, it brought up memories of my "little boyhood." Playing in the dirt...catching bugs and snakes...finding cool rocks. I place a high value on those rocks as did my son when he gave them to me. "Here Dad, here's some really cool rocks...Look at them! "

I started wondering how many older guys would still find amazement with these rocks or just look at them as "only rocks". There is so much that I do not know about in this world, but...I do know that there are treasures all around for us to freely enjoy. Some are these sparkly...colorful...different shaped rocks.

When I see a grouchy old guy, I ask myself, "What happened?" I try not to judge him harshly, as I do not know how or what life has given him but...I'd rather have the heart of a little boy than the heart of a grouchy old guy.

I've recently met someone in another country who is like one of these "rocks." It's funny how dogs can bring people together. This individual has a true desire to learn all he can about dogs, their capabilities, their wonders... In comparison to the amount of people in the world, there are not that many people who have a true, honest desire to learn. So finding this guy was like finding a really cool rock...something of value.

We have treasures all around us, everyone does. As a rule, they get harder to see as you get older. Your day is full of these treasures. Can you see them? When I was my son's age I looked at dogs as "cool treasures." I just wanted to be around them. Not for any other reason but to just be with them.

The natural progression of life and certain people have tried to rob me of these simple joys of just being with a dog. There are many cruel and empty souls walking around out here. Souls who look at dogs as only a tool - to be discarded when no longer needed or useful.

Me...I like to keep the childlike joy close at hand when viewing dogs. Just like that bunch of rocks - they are common, but... It's up to you what value you place on them.

Thanks, Josh - you're right - those rocks are cool!

You

"Oh! Had I ability, and could reach the nation's ear, I would today pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; its' crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced!"

Look around, people... open your eyes! Do you see what is happening all around you? The above quote was sounded out 157 years ago by a man named Frederic Douglass. Yet I believe it is more applicable today.

A lot of my articles will find yourself asking, "What does this have to do with dogs?" Well... plenty. When people change... dogs change. When our country is strong... our dogs are strong. When our country is weak... our dogs are weak. So how does a great country like ours grow weak? One individual at a time.

The wisest author ever has told us that, "the love of money is the root of all evil." Apply that to the economic bailout recently passed into law. Apply that to our government. Apply that to yourself. Everything comes down to one man... one woman. One person can,in fact, change something for the better. One person can indeed change something for the worse. But as more and more people become selfish and only care about themselves, society has no other avenue to take, but down.

Recently in Kentucky, we had an ice storm which caused extensive damage and many were without electricity for an extended period of time. My family went 18 days without power. This situation actually provoked many into helping others. Then, those that were helped, in turn helped others. People were thankful and considered how their neighbors were doing. Many, many acts of kindness were sincerely committed... one individual at a time. Funny thing is, my family enjoyed many aspects of not having power for so long.

Hard times bring out the best in people... and undoubtedly the worst. And as the hand of time moves forward, rest assured there will be many hard times for America. How will she respond? How will this country react? Most assuredly, it will be measured... one individual at a time.

Are you ready for the hard times? How will you affect America? Don't be fooled... though you are only one person... You... are.... America. You are part of the country. What you do matters. Who you are affects others around you.

So... look in the mirror and ask yourself, "Am I an American?" Or are you just into yourself? Everybody makes choices... good or bad. Our future will be the end result of these choices. The feeling of the nation will be quickened by the acts of... one individual at a time.

You.

Semper Fi...Evil Men...Muddy Fields...

The Marines have chosen this slogan, "Semper Fidelis" as their motto. It means, Always Faithful. Not sometimes, not most of the time, but all of the time..."Always Faithful."

In sharp contrast are evil men. For they cannot say that they are faithful to anyone but themselves. They pretend to be faithful. They say they are faithful. Some have even worn the uniform of a Marine but...they do not , nor can they possess this attribute of, "Always Faithful."

These words do, however, apply to dogs in the purest form. The other day as I was walking off a very muddy field with a good friend of mine, all this drifted into my mind. We had just finished training with our dogs in this mud. Good ole' sloppy, squishy, wet , Kentucky mud. This friend of mine, who is very faithful to his dog, could have easily stayed home in the comfort of a dry, warm house. But he knew that spending the day in the mud would benefit his dog...so he came.He is faithful to his dog and in return, his dog is "always faithful" to him.

When a true Marine says, "Semper Fi", it means something. They are not just words with no meaning. When you wake up your dog at 3:00 a.m. to go out in the cold and rain, and he willingly goes without hesitation...this means something. He is showing his faithfulness by being faithful. His day to day actions prove that he is indeed, "Always Faithful."

In my life I have met more than my share of evil men. They were very different in a lot of ways, yet they all shared this same attribute...they were not faithful to anyone or anything. They are like blood sucking parasites that go along with the host for a ride. They get their fill...leave their diseases behind...then they move on. This is what makes them evil.

Yet my dog...your dog will go out on any muddy field and walk with you, thoroughly enjoying himself with only your presence. Ahhh, the simple joy they must feel by being faithful. The contentment they have by serving.

Evil men, on the other hand, never experience this "contentment" from giving, as they are always taking. Not even comprehending that they are only destroying themselves. They do not take heed when GOD says that it is better to give than receive. In the end...they will pay for their deeds.

As for me, give me a faithful dog...a good friend...and a muddy field. God will deal with the evil men.

"SEMPER FI!"

The Sludge of Life

Today I watched my oldest son walk down the driveway with an eight week old pup. That morning, when the pup opened it's young eyes, it had no idea what was in store for him. He did not know that he would be going on his first plane trip and leaving behind all that he ever knew. Nor could her predict the two hour car ride from the airport. He did not understand or comprehend that in the morning he would be in one state, and in the evening he would be in another.

My son Joe has been anticipating the arrival of this pup for quite some time. He is full of expectations and hope for this young dog. As I watched this new pup willingly follow him down the driveway, I thought how pure and simple the human-dog bond can be. They spent the next three or four hours just walking and hanging out in the woods getting to know each other. Building the foundation of a bond that will last a lifetime. Forging a love that will cause both of them to protect and watch out for each other...and also, just as important, to simply have fun together.

I always tell folk that "we train from the inside out." With so much chaos and evil going on in the world, it did my heart good to see that little tail wagging away next to the legs of his new friend.

All was okay...all was right in the world.

My son is seventeen years old and still looks at alot of things in the world with young eyes. He has not been sucked in to the sludge of life that we adults accept as normal. It happens to all of us as we grow up.

But why do we have to get so wrapped up in useless worries? Why do we put value on things that are not worth anything? Why don't we open our eyes and look around us...and see, really see what's there?

I admit, I wallow in the sludge of life from time to time. But...I always wash it off sooner or later. Seeing the beginning of a lifelong friendship - like I did today, that is like a crystal clear, fresh waterfall washing away the built up sludge of life that was on me. It felt good...I needed that.

Searching for Sasquatch

From the title one would expect that this would be an article on tracking. "Searching for Sasquatch." Using dogs to track this elusive creature that some say exists, while others say...prove it. Well...

Let me tell you of something that happened to me when I was in Northern Minnesota with my dog. Now, you might not believe me but... every word of this is true.

We were hiking in a pretty desolate place, simply enjoying the quiet and beautiful scenery. Oliver and I, that's my dog, did this from time to time. We enjoyed getting away from so called civilization, the rat race and mostly... a lot of the people. It is not so much the buildings, cars, pollution and crowds of people, it's the characters of the people that are in the buildings, driving the cars, polluting the land and that make up the crowds.

I have no scientific way of proving this statement but... I believe people - on average - are getting worse and worse. Meaner, more prideful, and over all treating each other badly. So Oliver and I , we go out there and soak in what's real, what really matters.

That's when it happened. We were walking down a trail as we rounded a bend... Bigfoot was standing right in front of us! Now, out of the 3 of us, Oliver, Bigfoot, and myself, I appeared to be the only one who found this one of a kind encounter shocking. Oliver did not bark, run away, nothing. In fact, he actually looked at this gigantic piece of carpet and wagged his tail.

Then something happened that I will never forget. This thing... Bigfoot, spoke! English too! He looked down at me... looked me in the face and said, "Hey." I absolutely did not know what to do so I said ," Hey."

Now everybody has heard of Sasquatch... Bigfoot. There are countless eyewitness accounts, sightings. There are fuzzy photos, video tapes and even weird sounding audios. We even have some footprints to analyze but... no actual proof that they, "Sasquatch" exists.

But Oliver and I are actually standing in front of one now! And speaking with him... or her. I haven't figured that out yet. Finally,after what seemed like an eternity he said, " Hello, my name is Dick." I said, "Hi, Dick, my name is Tony and this is Oliver, my dog."

He then goes on to explain to me how he knows that many people are searching for him and the other Bigfoots. He explained to me how that they just choose not to associate with mankind. I did not know what to say, except to say, "That is why I am out here with Oliver, to get away from the two-faced people I do not care to be around." Dick says, " I know, I have seen you and Oliver out here before."

Oh, by the way, all the stories about how bad Dick... I mean, Bigfoot, stinks... all true. Dick tells me that the "Bigfoots" are all well aware of all the advances and progress that mankind has made. They just choose to stay away. They want no part of a society overflowing with hypocrisy. Two-faced people stabbing each other in the back. Smiling to your face and cowardly cursing you behind your back. Lying to you... stealing from you... spreading lies about you.

"You see," he says, "So many people are filled up with pride that they think they are something, when in actuality... they are nothing. They think that they are better than everyone else. And if you think I stink... that stinks! They just can't seem to keep their noses out of other people's lives. They don't have much of a life themselves, so they try and get into other people's lives."

Dick gets a smile on his face and says, "Out here in the bush we respect each other. We don't lie or pretend to be something we are not. We do not talk bad about other Bigfoots to other Bigfoots. If another needs a helping hand we gladly offer it. We find it honorable to help each other out."

Dick looks me square in the eye and says, "We realize that our Creator is really the only SOMETHING in this world. We are his creation and we are all created equal. We like it out here in the bush because we get to enjoy all of the simple treasures that he has made."

I said, "Dick, for a big, ugly, smelly, hairy creature... that was beautiful. I have to live among those types of people you just described. That's why I come out here to the woods."

We both agreed that most likely those people will not change how they are or how they treat others. When they gather together -3 or more - they feed off of each other's "stinkiness." It is actually quite sad. They are actually quite sad.

Then Dick says that he has to go. Him and some other Bigfoots are getting together and picking the ticks off each other. A real bonding experience, he says.

I said, "Dick, ticks and all, you probably have it better living out here in the bush then to deal with all the hypocritical people of today's society." He just looked at me and smiled.

So he petted Oliver and said good-bye to us. He said to me, "Tony, don't take these people seriously... they are just like ticks. Blood sucking, disease spreading, good for nothing creatures. Pick them off... keep on living."

I smiled and waved. "See ya, Dick!"

Dogdom Land

When I first had the interest to train dogs, I was privileged to be on the same field of one very unique individual. It wasn't until later on, that I realized what a "controversial" figure this guy was in Dogdom Land. But when I first met him, I got hooked on the type of training he was showing me. I remember saying to myself, " I love this!" It made so much sense to me. Pure and simple. It felt very right. But I also asked myself, "Why? Why aren't there more people training here? " I remember how odd that seemed to me, considering what great stuff I was experiencing and learning.

As time went by I heard others in Dogdom Land speak very badly of this guy. They said all kinds of things like, "He was crazy" - "Did not know what he was doing" - "Was one of the worst trainers in the country". It did not make sense to me though. I had just spent one of the greatest weeks ever in my life at this "crazy" guy's place. Why did so many Dogdom people hate him? This crazy guy indeed did things opposite of them. But who's way was the better way? The vast majority of people in Dogdom Land said this crazy guy was wrong! Was it possible that all of "them" were wrong instead?

As time went by, it became clear to me why so many were against this guy. This type of training is not for everyone. First off, it is a physical thing. You don't have to be an Olympic athlete, but you do have to be able to get around well. You can't be afraid to get dirty, wet, cold, hot scratched, bit, bruised... You have to be able to function in the natural world around you. Second, it will test and build your character. This is the main reason I fell for this type of training. One is just not dog training...but...living...with dogs. You not only learn about your dog, but learn more about yourself...who you truly are. Not what we sometimes pretend to be.

So it started to make more sense to me. This training was actual, real honest to goodness, old fashioned...hard work. So much of the other training in Dogdom Land was only for show. It did not make a difference if it did not produce results, just as long as it looked good. There were plenty of excuses for why it did not work. There were plenty of people willing to agree with those excuses. Ego, money and foolishness abound in Dogdom Land.

So, I have finally settled with the fact that I train the way that I do because...I simply like it. I know it produces the real world results that I am looking for and as crazy as it sounds, there is something special and magical about it at times. It is a mindset, a way of thinking...how you think about and approach training a dog.

Life truly does go by quickly and I will not get caught up and entangled in the jungles of Dogdom Land. I will not offer up any excuses or apologies for training this way. I don't have to. The more I learn, the more I am shown how much more I have to learn...it's a wonderful thing.

When Good Men Do Nothing

"Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." The Word of God

For those of you who are familiar with God's Word, you know that this refers to the moral state of mankind near the end times. It plainly says what it says. Because iniquity... which is the bad moral behavior that people used to be ashamed of. Things accepted now were not even tolerated in time past. Because iniquity...more and more people doing worse and worse things. Truly the moral baseline has dropped very low. Because so many people are doing, participating and accepting sinful behavior...the love of many shall wax cold.

Recently I was contacted by an animal control shelter that had a dog that a couple had purchased from me. They would have faced criminal charges had they not surrendered ownership of the dog. This dog, who was once robust, healthy and full of joyful energy had become malnourished, aggressive and very skiddish. This was accomplished by tying up the dog with no human contact and only feeding him every 3 or 4 days with hardly any water at all. When any interaction was made, it consisted of mental and physical abuse such as kicking and hitting the dog. This dog, who once was so loving and playful, had become aggressive and nervous because of this prolonged, cruel treatment.

Abuse like this has always been going on, it is nothing new. However, today it is much more prevalent. Much more widespread. Much more accepted and tolerated. This couple who bought this dog and promised to give him a good life are grossly overweight. That in itself speaks volumes of who they are. I observed their children, who were misbehaving the entire time and speaking very disrespectfully to their parents. There was no discipline from their parents. Again, this speaks volumes of who and what they are.

Sadly, this couple represents a vast majority of what America has let itself become. Their love for each other, themselves and their children has, "waxed cold." They do not treat each other or their children with respect or love. So, to treat a dog cruelly does not bother them at all. They do not loose any sleep over the cruel treatment they have inflicted on one of God's greatest gifts to us...the dog.

Look around and see how people treat people. Is it no surprise then that animals suffer cruelty at our hands.I understand spiritually why this is happening. I don't like it though. Especially to the innocent...children, the elderly, those who cannot take care of themselves. Dogs are way down on the list. But it does not lessen the fact of how wrong and cruel it is. I will not accept or tolerate this and will always do what I can to prevent and change this. I pray that others will too.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke

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