We lived in North Carolina when my dog Akasha was still in her mischievous puppy stage (which lasted until about 8-years-old) in a big house with a beautiful family room where we spent most of our time. I did my best to train her not to chew and eat things that were not doggie approved, but I didn’t do a very good job of it. She, on the other hand (paw?), did an amazing job training me not to leave things around the house.
Until one day. My husband at the time and I had rushed out of the house for some reason or another, leaving a few things strewn about the family room. We came home a few hours later only to find that she had decimated our DVD collection, eaten one of my shoes, gnawed on a stuffed penguin (poor Chilly has never been the same since), and then abandoned it all for the bottle of Metamucil fiber capsules on the coffee table. The bottle of Metamucil purchased earlier that week FROM COSTCO.
It was empty.
Like any concerned pet parent (and like I have done multiple times throughout her life), I called the vet in a panic and explained the situation through hysterical tears. The receptionist put me on hold and I choked back sobs for a few more minutes, staring at Akasha and fearing that her days were numbered. The vet came to the phone, and I thought for sure my baby was going to die.
Until I heard the laughing.
The vet calmed himself down enough to say: “You don’t need to worry. This literally will pass.”
And pass it did. In the backyard. On the kitchen floor. Right by the front door. Sometimes she didn’t even know she was pooping. But she did. About 33 times in two days. Oh, the joy of pet parenting.
But lest her digestive disaster be in vain, I learned something that day about the impermanence of life. Whatever you are going through, it’s only temporary. Whatever challenge you are experiencing, you will find a way to overcome it. Life is filled with ups and downs and piles upon piles of sh*t (no pun intended), but somehow we make it through.
I walked in one day while my parents were watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I have no idea what the movie was about, but I came in just in time to hear what has become one of my favorite quotes, “Everything will be all right in the end. If it’s not all right then it’s not yet the end.”
Akasha taught me that no matter how bad something seems, it will pass. She also taught me not to leave fiber supplements where inquisitive noses can find them.
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