Little Big Dog

I introduced you to Pepe, my 8-year-old chihuahua mix, in an earlier post as my cantankerous little guy.  Affectionately, we call him Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde because he can be sweet, affectionate, calm, and loving in one moment and ferocious in the next often without apparent reason.  When I'm home alone, I walk around singing to him (he cocks his head, wags his tail, and starts to jump up and down so I think he likes it), but my lyrics are bitterly truthful despite a jovial tune - think Disney song meets George Carlin lyrics (I can't, in good conscience, write the words onto the pages of these here internets).

Anyway, despite Pepe's lack of size (he's about 6.5 lbs), he is always undeterred from doing anything he wants - including playing tug with my boxer mix, Strummer.  I keep telling my friends that I need to get it on video - those who have seen it have all doubled over in laughter.  I will do my best to describe it: Strummer will usually be playing tug with our lab Ginny until Pepe decides he wants to play.  At which point, he will go over to Ginny (who is 80 lbs and a little bit intimidated by Pepe) and tell her to go away with a subtle growl.  Once she drops the rope, he picks up the end she had and starts to growl ferociously (I like to think he thinks he sounds like a lion, but you'd guess it was the world's tiniest yard edger if you didn't know any better).

At this point, the most amazing thing happens - Strummer, who at 65 lbs is fully capable of flipping his head and launching Pepe across the living room, just hangs on.  Meanwhile, Pepe turns the fiesty onto full blast and is pulling as hard as can while growling as loud as he can.  If Strummer pulls back, Pepe digs in his heels and is dragged across the floor.  This goes on until Strummer gets bored and drops it and Pepe cocks his head, ears erect, seemingly asking, "Why did you stop?"

There have been times in my life where I have been Strummer and times when I have been Pepe.  Times when I've had a perfect opportunity to take advantage of another person because I've had the upper hand.  There have also been times when I was the little lady, struggling to prove myself, my worth, and my tenacity.  Having the perspective of both - helps me to understand those I work with every day on daily basis and react to these situations effectively.  As a result, I try not to take advantage of people and actually try to elevate people with positive feedback and encouragement.  I also try to be self-aware so that I understand when I'm a Pepe and need to take the time to appreciate those who are patient with me when I'm learning and growing.

I obviously believe we have a lot to learn from our creatures.  If you have any stories, please share them in your comments.  Have a great day!