Hi,

This is Peja.

I was joking with a friend the other day telling her Peja is my spiritual teacher as of late. You see, he likes to run off. Like – A LOT. I found myself getting quite a rub by the whole situation. The kid stomp frustration I felt at the inconvenience of it: the warming of cars, the application of the winter uniform, slick drive up and down hill, the whistle, the clap, dog with frozen slobber now in car, up down hill again (sigh) mix that with a couple calendar days = frustrated, strung out on annoy amy. It was ridiculous the power I gave over when he would run off.

So I decided to pay attention to how I react when it happened next and breathe. Just breathe. I started thinking about the good in the experience, rather than feeling the instant sting of frustration and irritation.

So about this good?  He always goes to the same place. He has a few dog buddies and a family that love him up the hill and being he is the dog mayor of the ridge, he must make his rounds. I can’t fault him for this.

I'm happy to report that under a watchful eye, those icky, F*this dog! feelings have dissipated. Peja has self-appointed play dates through out the week and he has strategies for keeping them. Believe me when I tell you he got the Labrador gene of jedi mind focus.  Ever play ball with a lab? Yeah. You know what I’m talking about - they are tireless and determined. In this case, at least he's predictable and the neighbors are kind.