A different perspective on the day

I took Rugger up to northern Virginia to an adoption event with Promises Animal Rescue on Saturday. It's a two hour drive each way for a 2-3 hour event, so it really used up about all of the day. I had been planning to meet an applicant who was interested in Rugger, but they didn't make it. I came home feeling rather defeated and feeling like I had wasted the day.

But as I was writing this, I went through my pictures from the day and saw it from Rugger's perspective rather than my own. He doesn't know that he doesn't have a home and he certainly doesn't know that he had no more prospects at the end of the day. What he had was a long day with me, one-on-one, without even Maya pushing her way in between us. He was surrounded by lots of people who loved on him and fed him treats all the time we were there. He showed off his repertoire of tricks: sit, down, shake, and speak, which got him even more treats. He went shopping up and down the aisles of Petsmart, where they put everything interesting to a dog just at nose level for him to see, sniff, and try out. He picked out a flying disc and convinced me that he knew what to do with it, so I bought it for him and brought it home. He met a lot of other dogs and was ok with them all, although he clearly prefers human attention. 

When we got home we played with the new flying disc and I'm convinced that Rugger was a frisbee dog at some point in his life. 

Rugger had the same day that I did, but Rugger's day was obviously better than mine. Clearly, I need to strive to be more like Rugger. All people would be better people, and happier, if we were more dog-like.

We had a visit from Krypto, one of
former fosters.  

I had Krypto as a puppy and nursed
him through a bout with parvo. 

Rugger back at home playing with his new flying disc. It is
open in the center and is coated in ribbed rubber, making it
easy for a dog to catch and to pick up compared to a frisbee.

If Rugger has a "release" command, I haven't
figured out what it is.

I need to learn to throw it so he can catch it. He came close
a couple times and he clearly wants to and tries to catch it.