More dog days stuff. Check out this story of real working dogs.
Here at Camp Schuler we believe that dogs are happier when they have jobs. The joy that dogs bring to the work they were born to do is something you’ve got to see to understand.
Maybe that doesn’t just apply to dogs.
I read the Jenny & Reddy story while eating my apple turnover this morning. It was a heartwarming, apolitical way to start the day. As was your implication, I think purposeful living creates more meaning and joy in life for many — including people.
Reading this story reminded me of two people we met this past weekend. There’s been a old cabin for sale for forever next door to our home on the N. coast. When we drove up last weekend the for-sale sign was gone and there were piles of branches on the roadway. The next day two people knocked on our door, introducing themselves as our new neighbors. They were a couple in their 70’s, dressed for “work,” with dirty, well-worn clothing, which they self-consciously apologized for.
Their back story turned out to be they were retired — one an engineer, the other a nurse — had raised 7 children, who lived around the world in different countries after their college education. Now the couple were engaged in turning a neglected “pole house” into a home away from their Sacramento home. They talked about being raised poor, developing a work ethic that they both thrived in, and were determined to not sit still in their retirement. Instead they were turning the page and enthusiastically employing their energies towards fixing up this fixer-upper.
Like Jenny and Reddy, “Paul and Donna” found work a better place-setting then simply languishing around in later life. I look forward to knowing them better!
Good excuse to link to a genomics post Dave might appreciate — Are Dogs as Old as Eurasian Human Modernity?
I’ve read most of the papers quoted in the linked article. As it turns out my dogs are more closely related to the primitive dogs whose DNA has been discovered than they are to most modern breeds.