Love 101

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Lesson from Lola:
A doggie only wants love.
So: be – do – have – LOVE.
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My doggie girls Lola and Wincicila are having a doggie sleepover at our house this weekend. Nico and Pickles are staying the weekend while the human members of their family are out of town. The usual pecking order is setting itself up as we are 12 hours into the sleep over weekend.
Nico thinks he is the boss and will give a sharp yelp now and again when he thinks someone has entered his space. Even though he has lost many of his teeth (old age and poor dental hygiene) at about 20 some odd pounds he is in charge. Except, when it comes to Wincicila. Lola and Pickles defer to nico. Wini, however, defers to no man or beast.
Nico is madly in love with Wini. He defers to Wini in almost everything, almost all the time. He will forlornly follow her around feeling fortunate to sniff the air around’ her. She pretends to be oblivious but does take advantage of the situation and places herself as the ‘power behind the throne. Wincicila sees herself as quietly asserting herself as the supreme monarch of her world.
Pickles growls quite a bit. The good news is: he is a growl without a bite, at least related to humans and this quartet of doggies. We all feel safe around him. I have seen him on the beach get into real scuffles where his human dad has had to intervene but that is with four leggeds who are not a part of his pack. The truth about Mr. Pickles; we feel he has had a sad history that we can only guess at. He has a burn mark and slightly damaged ear on one side of his face. His human parents got him from the pound some years back as a young adult. He has always been skittish and fast to jump into defending himself mode. He is often fearful there is not enough food and is on a continuous hunt for something to eat. Just this morning he was out on the land gobbling up blackberries from the bush not caring if berries were ripe or green. Of all the doggie companions, he is the one who most desperately seeks to be loved. When he gets attention … even a little … he goes wild with joy. He breaks your heart as his growling scares many away, when with observation all he really wants is affection.
Lola is joyfully oblivious to the undercurrent and powerplays for the most part. When Nico yelps she swerves right. When Pickles growls she swerves left. When Wincicila does her thing wherein she thinks she is queen of the world Lola wags her tail and continues in her Lola-ness.
When Lola is in the snow all you see is her little tail like a flag as she bounces through the snow. When Lola is on the beach she runs along the shore breathing in the moist ocean air with rejoicing. Whenever she meets someone she always begins with, “Hello friend!”.
Sometimes I call Lola by her full name which is “Lola Magic Dog”. I have never really thought about why she has this title. However, now as I ruminate I am thinking it may be related to the way she transforms her world through her perception of the world.
Nico does not stop being bossy when around Lola, however Lola continues in the direction of joy. She does not fight Nico’s perception of himself but wags her tail and continues on her joyful way.
Pickles growls and Lola continues in the direction of joy.
Wincicila puts on her queen crown expecting obeisance and Lola moves into the joy of the moment calling her … with a doggie giggle.. “my queen.” Then, when Wini feels honored, Wini-girl lays on her back belly up in the safe place where warm feelings abide.
Whereas, on the surface Lola appears to be ‘low dog’ in the hierarchy of the tribe, she is actually, the true bonding power for the pack. She is the love glue that holds it all together.
Here is what I see, each puppy-companion here in my home this weekend is offering love to the best of his or her ability. Each is seeking safe-haven and responds to his or her world to maintain safety. As Lola runs with her pack her tail swishes and splatters love droplets like stars on all her pack – indeed on any and all who come onto the path she travels. 

 
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photos taken this morning on the land.  i tried to get all 4 puppies together - the photo below is the closest i came to achieving that goal. 

*upper left is WINCICILA...

*upper right is LOLA...

*middle row is NICO and...

*at the bottom of the photo heading out is PICKLES

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