Week 5 -- "B" Loving

Greetings, Favored Readers!

I come to you today from a very low place. Indeed, my mother (Alison) and prized-scribe has fallen ill this very week with something humans call "newmonia" or "newmona"....maybe "pneumonia?" Who knows. What should be known is that this week, I will be writing my own very first post....sans scribe. Yes, these little paws will be punching out perfect punctuation until Mother-dearest no longer feels so puny. Yes, you may applaud if so desired.

Now, it feels that Week 5's Dogvotional is in order, is it not? Quite right! Moving on! Tally Ho! You'll have to excuse me, I've never actually written and edited my own post before -- so I may get carried away with my own excitement. I love to pretend I'm human!

For this week's dogvotional I would like to focus on one of my very favorite topics: "B"ing Loving. And, considering we just passed through Valentine's Day (You all are Paw-fect in my eyes! Get it?!), I thought it would be quite appropriate. So, for Week 5, we will all "B" Loving.

Truth be told, I must confess, it was not Valentine's Day that got me to thinking about "B"ing loving, but my poor, poor, pathetically poor, baby brother Austen. Remember "The Monster" story? Yes, they are one-in-the-same, unfortunately. Well, my mother, in her festive Easter spirit, found blue rabbit ears on sale and(GASP),yes, decided on horror of all horrors and put them on The Monster for a photo shoot. I can say no more. You must see this embarrassing wickedness for yourself:







Oh, the horror. The horror! I can look at it no longer.

Needless to say, The Monster was at the point of puppy tear-dom when he saw the rest of our doggie herd silently laughing at him behind Mother's back. With each click of the camera, The Monster was quickly dissolving into a puddle of puppy-embarrassment.

But, for some reason unknown to me, I quickly realized that it could have just as easily been ME in those bunny rabbit ears being forced to pose for the camera. The Monster was doing us all a favor, and I had just realized it. Shame on me. The Monster did, in all reality, look extremely cute and should be proud of himself for presenting such a fine imitation of the Easter Bunny.

My old demeanour quickly melted away, and I began to smile and wag my tail at The Monster, to let him know how proud I was of him, and that even though all of his puppy friends would laugh at him at the dog park, I would still love him all the same.

The funny thing is that The Monster saw my expression and felt the love I was sending him -- he began to stand straighter and pose better and even look more confident in himself. I think I even heard him say, "Thanks, sis. I love you too."

And since that very day when I placed my love and confidence in The Monster, he has been more loving and confident himself. So, one moral to the story? Perhaps that you should give love in order to receive love. Had I continued to laugh at The Monster, he would have been callous towards me for a long time. But, I realized that he was doing us all a favor by wearing the rabbit ears, and that I should love him that much more for that. Because, it could have just as easily been me up there with those silly ears on and the one being laughed at.

By "B"ing Loving, we are not only spreading love to others, but spreading confidence and care, happiness and comfort. You see, there are so many more gifts present when one receives love. When I gave The Monster his love, I also gave him self-confidence, told him "It's okay to be different, because I still love you."

See, love is not always about all that ooey gooey stuff, like kisses between my mom and dad. GROSS! Love is much more powerful than that. By loving others, we see a type of "pay it forward" mentality, in which those we loved continue to love others. I hope that one day we can be a world full of love. Will you help me make it one?

I would like to end today's dogvotional by asking you to raise your right hand, or right paw, and repeat after me: "I promise to 'B' Loving this week towards my family, friends and strangers. I believe that by 'B'ing loving to another person, I will in turn be loved and so will other people. My hope is that I will one day help B: The Dogvotionalist create a world full of love so that we will all live in peace and happiness. I promise to spread the word of B to those who do not know her, and will be back next week in order to further enrich my knowledge and soul with B's all-powerful goodness."

Thank you all for reading my dogvotional -- It was difficult typing with my teeny-tiny paws, but I enjoyed being able to feel more connected to my public. I can't wait to see you all next-week. Hopefully my scribe will be in tip-top shape, as this whole typing thing is for the birds.

Until then, "B" Loving!
B: The Dogvotionalist.