Lady's Vision

We don't always understand our purpose in life or always understand the purpose
of things in our life. We can only interpret what we see and feel. I believe that we
are given things along the way that help us see and feel life. Sometimes those
things can be right under our nose and we don't even know it. It is so easy for us
to become blind and numb along the way dealing with the complexity of life. The
things we are given come in all forms. The virtues that we learn from these gifts
can be interpreted differently. Some may gain tolerance, strength, or hope, while
others gain inner peace, humility, or patience. The important lesson here is not
necessarily what we get from things but the simple fact that we gain something
and grow as a person. Even a simple smile can be a healing tool.

I believe that Lady was put in my life to teach me something. Special things come
in all sorts of packages and at first I thought she was just one crazy dog. It didn't
take long to see that she was special. It didn't take long to realize that she had so
much to overcome everyday, none of which slowed her down. I began to realize
how selfish my outlook on life really was. It is so easy to complain but when with
Lady I realized that she was just happy to be alive and didn't allow little things to
effect her. We sometimes relate that simplicity of life to just a simpler life form.
It's easy to think that her life was simple because her mind was simple but I know
after years of being with Lady that it is not true. Lady was not simple. Anyone
that tries to tell me that her life is less important than a humans hasn't allowed their
self to learn from other beings and probably doesn't have good relationships with
animals or humans. A simple life doesn't mean your a simple being. I think it just
means that being is strong enough to not allow small things to effect it's life in a
negative way. To me a simple life means having the ability to maintain the
importance of life even under bad circumstances. It is our choice.

Nothing has ever impacted my life so strongly like Lady has, that is how strong her
spirit really is. When Lady and I worked together we met new people everyday. I
am not much of a people person and never new how to break the ice but didn't
have to worry about that with Lady around. It didn't seem to matter if they were
dog people or not, everyone was pulled in by Lady's mystical charm. Then, once
they watched her for a few minutes and asked me the normal questions about her
legs, she had made a new friend. I don't want to speak for everyone but I believe
even on our shortest visits everyone gained something from Lady. Even if it was
just a simple smile. Her stoic strength, her noble stance on crippled legs, her head
held high, and her puppy-like actions were all very infectious. I don't care how bad
of a mood I was in, I couldn't help but feel happier when around her. Every where
we went was like a new adventure to Lady and every time I carried her out of the
truck she was so exited and happy to see what was next.

I feel in my heart that Lady was put in our lives to share a message of hope. I
believe that now she is gone she has charged me to share her life, her spirit, her
story with everyone. I feel obligated to be her messenger now. I will never have
the same effect on people as she did but hope to change peoples lives, even in the
slightest, with Lady's story. To translate such an amazing life into words is the
most difficult thing I have ever done. Hopefully with my written story, her pictures,
and others stories, her spirit will continue to speak. My hope is that others will
take the time to listen.

The Vision Topics

It has been almost a year now and Lady's light still burns bright. It is amazing
how fast time goes by. That is why it is so important to make each day count and
not let the lessons of life slip out of our memory. It is easy to get caught up in
everyday life and why I was so lucky to have Lady open my eyes to see the
bigger picture. It is my wish that the memory of her and the example she set will
live on and hopefully not be forgotten.