September 12, 2019

Helping Me Become a Better Person

by Damian

Well, this week was a really short week for Moose because of the holiday. He came back on Tuesday from his weekend with the Brights. Mr. Bright said they went to Target, Costco, the park, and church where Moose did a great job. He did get a little excited on the way to the dog park and while walking to school. I don't know, it seems Moose just has his good days and not so good days. I've come to the conclusion that it's better to just not stress or worry about it so much. It's not good for Moose or for myself or for our relationship. He is doing so good in other areas that I'm going to feed off of that. I'm going to pet him knowing how proud I am of him and how great he is and how much I love him no matter what. And maybe, hopefully, as he matures the barking will just stop. Honestly, Moose is a great dog. He is confident, smart, loving (in his own way) and I really have high hopes for him and faith in him that he can be our first chocolate graduate. However, I aso feel that because of our past record with chocolatate labs, Moose is kind of overlooked. I could be wrong.  I could be caught up in my feelings as a parent. I don't know everything. I do know that I really love and care for Moose like a child. I didn't tink I would feel this way for him at first. No matter what, I just want Moose to live a long, happy, and healthy life. It's funny because when we took Moose to Sgt. Gregory's office to drop him off to go get neutered, I couldn't help but get emotioal. Yeah, I know, I know, it's no big deal. They all get it, they do it all the time, etc. But he is "my" boy and I love him and can't help but worry or want to be with him. These are good feelings for me to have and I can say that. This type of love and affection was always absent from my youth. I never received it from my parents growing up, so in turn never was able to give it to anyone else. And doing so much time in prison where those feelings and emotions are looked upon as weakness only made it worse. I guess what I'm getting at is Moose and the program and what I'm going through is a good thing because it's all helping me become a better person. Thanks New life and Moose!