Looking Up

Both Hannah and I look upwards.

Hannah watches birds, butterflies, moths, and airplanes. I watch birds, the moon, planets, and stars.

One evening when we were walking in the township park, several wedges of Canada geese decided to land in a nearby field. They announced their descent with raucous honks and a flurry of wings back-peddling the air in preparation for landing. When the first wedge approached, Hannah jerked her head upward to identify the onslaught of noise, trying to decide whether to run or watch. She weathered the first group only to see a second wedge approaching...and a third...and a fourth.

To Hannah, a goose is a goose is a goose.... Ironically, shortly after Hannah had her first experience with landing geese, a friend sent me this wonderful analogy.

LESSONS FROM GEESE

Dr. Robert MacNeish

FACT 1 - As each Goose flaps its wings it creates an uplift for the birds that follow. By flying in a V-formation, the whole flock adds 71 per cent greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
LESSON - People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

FACT 2 - When a Goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
LESSON - If we have as much sense as a Goose we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.

FACT 3 - When the lead Goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another Goose flies to the point position.
LESSON - It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with Geese, people are interdependent on each other's skills, capabilities and unique arrangements of gifts, talents or resources.

FACT 4 - The Geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
LESSON - We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.

FACT 5 - When a Goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two Geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.
LESSON - If we have as much sense as Geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.

THE PLEIADES

When I lived on Georgana Farm, I used to lie on the stone wall by the barn on clear nights and look upwards. I always wondered what I was seeing. The only constellation I could identify was the Big Dipper. This fascination with the cosmos never left me. In 2002 I met a wonderful man who taught me about the sky. He would set up his telescope in my backyard so I could view Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter. He challenged me to find the Great Nebula and the double star in the Big Dipper. The first time I saw the Pleiades through his telescope I was profoundly moved. Even today the Pleiades still moves me to tears.... my teacher is no longer a part of my life, but he left a wonderful legacy. When I am up with Hannah in the middle of the night my favorite companions are Orion, the moon, the Pleiades, and the bright morning star Venus. Indeed, I recall seeing this extremely bright and clear light in the early morning of September 2002 and asking my friend what it was. "That, my dear, is Venus," he said. "At this time of year when she rises in the east, she is called the morning star."

"Many a night I saw the Pleiades, rising thro' the mellow shade,
Glitter like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid."
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1837-8, Locksley Hall

Choosing Hannah

A friend emailed me the following story recently, and because I had just gotten Hannah, it was a "warm fuzzy" story. Yes, it's a little mushy, but the wisdom of kids astounds us in many ways.

Sighs of the Heart

by Bob Perks

"She keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this," the woman told the volunteer.
"What is it she keeps asking for?" she asked.
"Puppy size!"
"Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for."
"I know...we have seen most of them," the mom said in frustration.
Just then the young child came walking into the office. "Well, did you find one?"
"No, not this time," she said with sadness in her voice. "Can we come back on the weekend?" The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.
"You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply," the volunteer said.
The young child took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. "Don't worry, I bet we'll find one this weekend," the child said.
Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with her. They both felt she was being too particular. "It's this weekend or we're not looking any more," Dad finally said in frustration. "We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size either," Mom added.
Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now the young child knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs. Tired of the routine, her mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages.
There was an observation window so people could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted. The young girl walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one. One by one she said, "Sorry, you're not the one."
It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup. The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer.
"Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!" she screamed with joy. "It's the puppy size!"
"But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held the last few weeks," Mom said.
"No not size----sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed," she said. "Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love the bigger the sighs!"
The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both.
"Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms," she said. Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, "Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!"

When I contracted with Hannah's breeder to take a puppy, it was explained to me that professional and serious hobby breeders would survey the potential owner and choose the puppy they felt would be best suited for that individual. Because both the breeder and the owner of Hannah's sire were people of integrity and very professional in their business operations, I trusted that they would select a wonderful little female for me.

Because the breeder had bred 2 bitches to Wes, I visited both litters. When I visited Bella's litter, Hannah and her siblings were just 5 weeks old. I picked up most of the puppies one by one. Hannah had a dusky olive green rick-rack identification ribbon around her neck. She was one of the tiniest puppies, if not THE tiniest. She was calm and looked at me steadily. I put her down, picked up another, and would pick her up again and again. I finally whispered to her, "Would you like to come home with me?" . . . . and the breeder overheard me. I told Luci that I wanted my puppy from Bella's litter, gave her a deposit, and made arrangements to pick up the puppy 2 weeks later.

I went home and kept my fingers crossed for 2 weeks. Prior to the pick up day I called Luci to arrange a time. I asked her which puppy she had selected for me, and she said that she thought the puppy I liked would be a great match for me. She had already started calling her Hannah. I was ecstatic!

Yes, Hannah had the puppy sighs . . .

Just What's In A Name Anyway?

“Words have meaning, but names have power” (anonymous)

Raven... Sophie... Dakota... Gaia... Heidi... Lyra... Moxie... Rio... Zoe...

Like anyone who is anticipating the arrival of a pet, I spent weeks thinking of names. Friends joined me by making suggestions and reacting to those I'd brainstormed. My list grew longer and longer.

Because I love "looking up" at the stars, planets, and constellations, Luna was at the top of my list for many weeks. Eventually as I sounded the name over and over, it began to sound like a looney name for a lunatic, something I did NOT want in a puppy.

Then I considered synonyms for black like Shadow and Onyx . . .

Complicating the process was the AKC regulation of limiting the name to 27 letters and spaces. I was also asked to include the kennel name Ridgeway.

One day the name Hannah came to me as if it were whispered on a breeze. There was absolutely no reason why Hannah suddenly went to the top of my list. It just seemed like the perfect name and was also two syllables and easily verbilized, valuable training tools.

Hannah is from the Hebrew name Channah. Hannah \ha(n)-nah\ is pronounced HAN-ah. Its meaning is "favored grace." Hannah was the mother of the prophet Samuel. Being barren, she asked God to bless her with a child, and her prayer was answered. Hence, the name literally means "God has graced me with a child."

Very appropriate. Our Hannah is certainly a favored one who has graced our lives.

And because I liked the names Shadow and Luna, her AKC registered name is Ridgeway Moonshadow Hannah.

My Way

"Learning the value of silence is learning to listen to, instead of screaming at, reality: opening your mind enough to find what the end of someone's else's sentence sounds like, or listening to a dog until you discover what is needed instead of imposing yourself in the name of training."
Thomas Dobush, Monk of New Skete

Once I gave official notice of retirement in February 2007, I began to prepare for the puppy's arrival ...... by reading! While I could not accept any trainer's total package, I came away with a new understanding of the canine mind. As a person who has been around animals most of her life, I knew that I would pull ideas from each book and ultimately train Hannah "my way."

Cesar's Way introduced me to the concept of alpha dog.

The Dog Listener reinforced the alpha dog concept but strongly embraced training without pain or fear. Trainer/author Jan Fennell was inspired by the famous Monty Roberts who authored The Man Who Listens to Horses and utilizes the "join up" method of human-animal communication.

Katz On Dogs resonated with me the most. Jon Katz is not afraid to admit that he loses his temper and makes mistakes while working with his dogs. The "case studies" he presents to illustrate specific training techniques showcase Katz's skill as a writer. I was genuinely sad to finish the book.

But Suzanne Clothier spoke to my heart in her book If A Dog's Prayers Were Answered...Bones Would Rain from the Sky. She refutes the alpha dog concept believing that it actually foster's unfairness and cruelty in dog training. She speaks of the "light" in a dog's eyes which should never be extinguished by inferior training.

"Lots of people talk to animals," said Pooh.

"Maybe, but . . ."

"Not very many listen though," he said.

"That's the problem," he added.

Bemjamin Hoff: The Tao of Pooh

May the light never disappear from Hannah's eyes!

Meet Hannah

When I decided to retire after 37 years in education, I knew I wanted to bring a puppy into my life. I specifically wanted a female, black Labrador Retriever sired by Wendi Huttner's stud dog Balrion Weathertop Nor'wester. Wes is an AKC Champion and comes from the Balrion Kennel in Wales. Both Wes and Hannah's dam, Bella, carry the English Labrador Retriever bloodlines. The English Labs are a smaller, more compact dog than the American Labs.

I knew that adding puppy energy to our home would force a huge shift in our very predictable lives. Hannah's presence has been felt in many ways, and she has been a major catalyst in returning me to the outdoors.