Joy to the World

To continue with our immensely enjoyable theme of singing, today the dogs would like me to share an experience.  A few monthes ago, I had the good fortune to catch up with a female dog named Patches. She and her human share an extraordinary bond.  A year or so ago, her human had asked me if Patches could tell us about her history. Patches came to her human, when she adopted her from the SPCA. She had been found under a little used underpass on an old dirt road, in a condition that indicated that she had been in the wild for quite some time.

Patches had many quirks, her human felt knowing her history would help explain some of these and help her to better understand Patches. So she told us her story, it was quite inspiring and remarkable that she had survived with her spirit intact, still willing to trust us humans, open to love, with only a few odd reactions to her environment. When, I recently got to catch up with her, she was no longer in survival mode, she was much calmer, peaceful and relaxed.

Her human asked about when they traveled together in the car. “Patches makes a yelping sound…it starts low, then it gets louder, it gains intensity and she does it the WHOLE trip!”

“So it makes you uncomfortable?” I asked her.

“YES! I am worried that she’s uncomfortable herself, unhappy, or is in distress and is trying to tell me something… sometimes it drives me crazy…” She answered.

“So it distracts you then?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m afraid she doesn’t like the car. I get so worried that there’s something wrong and I can’t figure out what it is…She has to come in the car…but we don’t go very far anymore, in case there’s something wrong…” She replied.

To this, Patches had a delightful response…which still makes me smile. “Oh….I LOVE the car! Everything is okay…” She said.

“Then why do you yelp?” I asked.

“I’m not yelping...” She replied. “I’m singing!” Then with great gusto and glee, I heard her singing…”Joy to the world…We’re in the car… Joy to the people passing by…We’re in the car!”

As I sang this to her human, she burst out laughing. “Oh,” she chuckled, “that’s good! Maybe I’ll sing along with her!”