Category Archives: act of kindness

I started this year encouraging Random Acts of Kindness as a super stepping off point toward being a happy person. I have seen over the period of writing this blog how many people abuse their bodies with food in their efforts to assuage real or imagined feelings of insecurity or as a misdirected way of dealing with stress. If they were happier at the outset, maybe they wouldn’t have a weight problem at all. The tags at the right with stress, happiness and relaxation will direct you to further items on these subjects.

Getting back to the act of kindness being dissected. I want to explain it from start to finish as I think there is some valuable information in it.

Gabi at 3 months chewing a ball …

It started some years ago when my ex-wife got a puppy for Kate, my daughter. Kate was 11 years old at the time. She had been lobbying for a puppy almost since she began talking. We never got her one when I was married because neither my wife nor I wanted the hassle of owning a dog.

My personal feeling about dogs was the ‘grandparents’ one. You know, I am happy to play with these darling grandchildren, but I want them to go home with their parents when I am finished. That’s how I felt about dogs. I could enjoy playing with your dog, but I was happy to see him leave with you.

Following the divorce, my daughter continued her efforts to change her mother’s mind. Finally, after she remarried and had a house and a yard, the excuses ran out. They got Gabi, a poodle pup, in early 2006. My daughter was thrilled to have her new dog.

The trouble started almost immediately. Every time I called, I heard a new horror story about Gabi’s wildness (she was a puppy). Gabi got into the laundry basket and chewed up their underwear. Gabi got a hold of the toilet paper and chewed up the roll and there was toilet paper all over the bathroom. They had to close the doors of various rooms to protect their contents from Gabi.

I had met the puppy, of course, and she seemed a little wild and was also cute as could be. Pretty much par for the course for a puppy. I thought she had time to grow out of it. I enjoyed playing with her on visits. I was also happy to leave her there when I was finished. I didn’t have a dog, nor did I want one. I had one as a child that ended up being my father’s dog after my brother and I grew up. That was the last dog I owned. It was over 50 years ago.
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