He's not sensitive - he's an artist

I picked up Smokey from Sherri’s house this past Tuesday.

I had read his profile on the Muttville website before meeting him, which described him as senstive. I was prepared for whatever that meant.

In practice, it meant he sat obediently but nervously in the car on the ride back to my house, and avoided eye contact at all costs. It meant he didn’t eat for almost 2 days. It meant that he clung to everything – me, the walls, the couch.

After a few days of my routine, which involves a walk in the morning, me going to work from 9-5, coming home and going to my local dog park for a real romp, Smokey and I were a pretty bonded pair. He stayed tightly at my heel off-leash. He came to me when I called him at the dog park (ah, the benefits of a senior dog, they know some manners!). He still seemed “sensitive”... shy, subdued, introverted. But every day he was better, less tense, more sure that I was there to help, more confident to spread out on the couch rather than curl up tightly in a ball.

A friend of mine had the opportunity to meet Smokey on Tuesday night when he first came to live with me, and then came over again today, 5 days later, for a walk to the ice cream store.

“Does he seem better?” I asked. “I feel he is better. But he is very sensitive.”

And my friend laughed, “He’s not sensitive – he’s an artist!”

Oh… how right he was. And how perfectly this fits into what I’ve been trying to share with you.

Smokey is an artist. The way in which he engages with life is art. Smokey is like an art gallery – he changes, he grows, he adapts to what his audience needs, he blossoms, he flowers.

This is true for all Muttville dogs. They are little walking art projects, and while we can mold some behaviors, each of them is a living, breathing artwork to be cherished and admired. Some of us are art collectors – some of us have just one piece.

Adopt a dog today – because you are an artist as well. The medium here is love.

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AliG | 04.26.10