I have two dogs, one is turning 17 this coming January. She has been doing incredibly well for her age and even maintains her playfulness. She has kept her youthful figure, but her fur is not quite as full and her eyesight is rapidly deteriorating. It doesn’t help that she had one of her eyes removed about a year ago due to an unusual condition. She still likes to go for walks, but she doesn’t like to actually walk. She sniffs in one place or another for a long, long time. This makes sense, as her sense of smell is more acute due to her loss of eyesight. I’ve always believed that getting exercise was the main goal of taking a dog for a walk. Now I have come to understand that they get as much enjoyment sniffing the ground and collecting information about other dogs and critters. The same can be said when you come home and the dogs sniff you like crazy. I don’t have to say a word, and they know where I’ve been and with whom. They can tell if I have been around other dogs or cats, and they certainly know if I have been around food.

My old dog has taught me to be more patient and to enjoy just being outdoors with her and watching her enjoy the various (stinky) scents she sniffs. Who knows what kind of exciting information she is gathering! While I stand and observe her activities, I also have come to observe my surroundings in the park. It’s not unusual to see dog owners talking on their phones or scrolling their screens. I believe many are working while they walk their dogs as they are likely working from home due to the pandemic. Even outside of work, our phones have become our source of information (for better or for worse); and we certainly crave all the information out there (for better or for worse). I used to think that dog owners should pay more attention to their dogs rather than to their phones while walking the dog. Now I have second thoughts. Perhaps the more the dog owners are lost in their scrolling, the happier their dogs as they get to sniff the ground to their hearts’ content.

There is one thing that is quite different between the information humans and dogs gather. Whereas humans can pick and choose what they read and accept what they read as fact or fiction, the information dogs gather are from scents and they are what they are (no spin)! Dogs live in the moment; they accept life and surroundings for what they are not what they want it to be.

We have a lot to learn from these wise, beautiful creatures!