You have your average dog lover, and then you have me.Growing up, I’ve always had a dog or three or eight in my life.  As a young girl, I dreamed of being a veterinarian so I could spend my days playing with puppies, and I’ve read Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul at least six times.

I don’t just like dogs for the warm fuzzies I get when I cuddle puppies or read a heartwarming story. I love dogs for the everyday life lessons they teach us. So when I sat down to write this column, I knew what I wanted to share with you guys was the life lessons I have learned from my dog, Sparkle.

Besides the obvious lesson of “When mom is running late, be sure you hide her favorite shoes and slobber all over her pants,” I have chosen five life lessons I think we can all learn from a bulldog.

1.         Always be down for an adventure.

Sparkle is an adventurer. She loves to go. She never asks where. She doesn’t care. As long as she has her friends by her side, Sparkle will always be down for an adventure. She will stop what she is doing the moment she hears the keys jingle or the word “go,” she is at the door, ready and excited to go on adventure.
This is a trait I admire in my dog. As someone who overthinks and analyzes everything, I envy my dog’s carefree sense of adventure. Over the years, she has taught me to be more spontaneous, take a chance, and take a leap. I don’t always need an agenda and a plan. Sometimes I just need to roll the windows down, stick my head out the window, and enjoy the ride.

2.       Be optimistic, but accept that there will be storms.

Sparkle doesn’t like snow. Whenever it snows, she refuses to go out the front door, and instead turns and runs to the back door to see if it is snowing out there too. When she realizes it is, she will pout and go hide under the bed. It’s good to hope for the best, but we’re all going to have things happen that make us want to crawl under the bed sometimes.

3.       Accept the things you can’t change.

As a bulldog, Sparkle has certain physical features she just can’t do anything about. For example, her unique aerodynamics means she will quickly overheat if she overexerts herself. When she was younger, Sparkle would stress herself out when she couldn’t follow me on my daily runs or go for a walk with the other dogs. However as she has matured, Sparkle has learned the beauty of staying home. Now when I come in from my jog, she is still snoozing happily in her bed. The life lesson here is to accept what you can’t change about yourself. Sparkle won’t ever be a runner. She tried, but the result was just frustration. Once she learned to accept her own uniqueness, she found she was much happier doing the things she loved (sleeping) instead of what everyone else was doing.

4.       Take care of your friends.

Sparkle is fiercely protective. She looks after her people always. It doesn’t matter if she is fast asleep or in the other room. The moment she hears an argument, a vacuum, or the pop of a nerf gun, she will come charging to find the danger and protect her people.  We all need to keep our friends close. Even when life gets hectic and crazy, don’t let it pull you away from those who care about you.  Protect those who are precious to you.

5.       Always make time for naps. No explanation needed.