How dogs taught me to act my age

Hello to all! This is another entry from Bark Place. I feel like I should start with a bit of a disclaimer: All of my previous entries (and most likely future entries) have been about things that I have learned from dogs. It is not that I dislike other animals, but one of the first rules of writing is to write what you know. Seeing as I spend almost every waking hour with dogs, they are what I know and thus what I write about. Keep in mind that these lessons can be learned from any animal, I just relate them to dogs given my role in the ARL. SO, with that said….here we go!!

I have realized something over the past few years: Being in your mid-twenties is kind of like being a teenager all over again. There are so many things that happen that make you question your place in life, your place in the world, and all too often you find yourself thinking “what am I doing with my life?!” While I suspect that this is a question that is not regulated to teenagers and twenty-somethings, I must stick to my own rule about writing what you know (for the record, I am 26.) It seems to me like your twenties are full of events that are designed to remind you that you are not a kid anymore. They can be major events like the when the first of your friends gets married, the first of your friends has kids, the first lease you sign, and the first car you buy on your own. Or they can be minor events like the first Will Farrell movie you saw that you did not find funny (Semi-Pro anyone?), the first Friday night you spent drinking hot chocolate and watching Tivo’d episodes of Jeopardy without feeling the least bit lame, or the first time you walked into Abercrombie and Fitch and saw nothing that you would even consider wearing. Whatever the event may be, it can often leave you wondering “am I too young to be doing this?” Then, of course, there is the other side of the coin. There are also moments when you can feel as though you are being pushed into adulthood kicking and screaming. Recently, I had a night where all I did was get together with some friends, play video games, and eat junk food. While I truly enjoyed myself, I kept having déjà-vu to when I was 13 years old and doing almost the exact same thing. The only things that changed were we were in a house instead of my parents’ basement, the Xbox had replaced the Super-Nintendo, the junk food now gave me epic heartburn, and there was a question in my mind that had not been there 13 years ago; “Am I too old to be doing this?”

I find more and more as I get older that I am behaving a certain way and doing certain activities not because I want to or enjoy them, but because society has decided that this is what people my age are supposed to do. A recent example of this comes to mind. A few months ago I was involved in a pseudo-serious relationship. For better or worse, this is not the case anymore. However, while we were dating, I got roped into doing a lot of “couples” activities. Game nights, dinner cruises, and couples outings to sporting events, Broadway shows, etc. Like any good boyfriend, I usually just smiled and made small talk while waiting for the sign that it was ok to leave. There was one night, however, that I made the biggest mistake a man in a relationship can make…I asked a question. While we were getting ready to go to a wine and cheese tasting, I uttered the five words that can make or break any evening; “Why are we doing this?” Now, I must state some things for the record. First, my girlfriend at the time hated wine. Second, I am lactose intolerant, and I am not a huge fan of wine myself. Third, the wine tasting was hosted by people that neither of us was terribly fond of. So, I didn’t think it was that crazy of a question. I stated these facts to her as I posed my question, and got an answer I could have never prepared myself for; “Because we are too old to go out and play beer pong with your fraternity buddies. These are the things that couples our age do.”

I am sure there is a question on all of your minds right now as well; “What on earth could this have to do with dogs?” I am glad you asked! As I have stated many times, I learn most of my important life lessons from dogs. And thankfully, there is a dog that frequents Bark Place that is teaching me that age is just a number, and that society should have no bearing on how you perceive your own age. The dog in question is named Oden. He is a 13 year old Dalmatian mix. Now, if we go by conventional wisdom and assume that every year old a dog is is equal to 7 human years, it would make Oden 91 years old. (Thanks to advances in veterinary technology and higher quality dog food, among other things, the 1 year to 7 year ratio is not really accurate anymore, but for the sake of my argument it gives us a decent measuring stick.) Now, if Oden was adhering to society’s view of what creatures in their 90’s should be doing, he would be spending his days eating tapioca pudding, watching Wheel of Fortune, and going to bed at 5pm. This is not the case. Oden is one of the most energetic dogs I have seen in a long time. He is usually one of the first dogs to get here, will have a swimming lesson during the day, and still be up and running while the 2 and 3 year old Labs and Golden Retrievers are napping in the corner. He still wiggles his butt with the vigor of an 8 week old puppy, chases a tennis ball like it is the first time he has ever seen one, and will sniff any hind end that comes within a 10 foot radius of him. There are days, of course, that you can tell Oden feels his age. He has arthritis in his hips, and suffers a lot of the aches and pains that go with it. However, he even takes on those aches and pains with the vigor of a dog half his age. If he is having trouble standing up, or going up and down stairs, he doesn’t wait for someone to help him. He backs up and gives it another shot with a little more “umpf” the second time around. When the other dogs in the room are being lazy, he will go to each and every one of them, give them a push with his snout, and force them to get up and play. It is almost as if he is going around to each dog telling them that life is too short to spend it sleeping. What is so beautiful and inspiring about Oden is that nobody ever gave him the memo that this is not the way dogs his age are supposed to act. He is not acting this way to defy anyone’s expectations. He is not acting this way to prove a point that dogs his age can run and jump with the best of them. He is doing it because he feels like it. Nothing more, nothing less.

We can all learn a very important lesson from Oden. Age is only a number. Nothing more, nothing less. Age does not define who you are. It is a part of who you are, yes, but it should not and cannot define you unless you let it. So kids, when your parents find you on Facebook and try to become your friend, do not shake your head and say that they are too old to be on Facebook. Clean up your profile, take down the pictures of you doing keg stands, add them as a friend and be proud that your folks are not conforming to the idea that they are “too old” to be on Facebook. Adults, when you are walking through Best Buy and see that Guitar Hero game just begging to be tried out, do it! Don’t sigh and say “I’m too old for that stuff.” You are basically saying “I’m too old to have fun.” And nobody is too old to have fun. And twenty-something’s….remember that at this point, we are neither adults nor kids. So play some video games, go to a wine tasting, then go play beer pong. And if you ever find yourself wondering if you are too old or too young to be doing something, just think: What Would Oden Do?