Connecting awareness

Some people would argue this about me, but I often struggle with what to say to people.   When working with the homeless, how do you start a conversation?   What do you say?   It’s tough to figure out common ground.   Politics are too polarized at the moment.   I’m not up on the latest in the entertainment world.   Most homeless people aren’t really into the latest automotive news.   What am I going to say to someone?

I know that I’ve mentioned this before, but I always try to make requests feel better than “just another line” for people to go through.   I don’t have much time, but I always want to do something to make sure that the people I talk to feel like people instead of a list of items on a sheet of paper.   Even though I’m not always sure that I get through in that form, I always want to make the effort.   Today, I was shown why that effort is worth it.

I took a request from a gentleman today for some boots.   He was a taller, slender man carrying a backpack, a few items he had picked up at other vehicles, and a travel mug of coffee.   His jacket was this bright, royal blue color.   A bit dirty, but a color that bright is tough to hide.   His stainless steel travel mug had two bright blue stripes on it, the same color as his jacket.   When I asked him if he planned it that way, he gave a loud laugh and said “this isn’t even my favorite mug.   I lost my favorite but ended up with this one.   I think I kinda like it now.”   

We made a few jokes and had some big laughs about being fashionable and “gotta look good all of the time” before we parted ways.   As he turned to leave, he had a huge smile on his face.   I saw him look at his mug, then his jacket a couple of times as he walked away with a touch of a skip in his step.   I’m pretty sure that he had a new favorite mug.   I get the feeling that his outlook on the day, and his mug had changed a bit.   

Lesson one: It only takes a small connection to start a big reaction.

Knowing who I am, I realize that in public situations, I become very aware of my surroundings and those that are in it.   That doesn’t mean that I catch every detail of every conversation, but it does lend me to hear and see things that others often do not.   Today, this awareness fed me two bits of information that still have me smiling.   

Through the two seasons that I’ve done missions with the Akron Snow Angels, I’ve seen a lot of faces.   Some have been different, and some have been the same.   There are those that we see time and time again that are stuck.   For whatever reason, unable to get traction to change their situation.   In some cases, they may not want to change their situation.   They’ve become comfortable with the uncomfortable.   I’m still very happy to help those people.   I don’t know why they may be stuck.   They may not even know it.   In the same sense, it may not even be their doing.   For me, I just enjoy knowing that I was able to help make their day a bit better.   

On the opposite side of that, there are people that may be spinning their wheels, but aren’t necessarily stuck.   Sometimes, there just needs to be a little bit of a push to help get un-stuck.   Today, I overheard two separate people today mention that they had either moved into or got news that they were getting housing.   In working with the homeless this is the best news to hear.   These are people that aren’t stuck.   It’s such a huge step in the right direction for people.   It’s not the end of the battle, but it’s the biggest step towards getting to what most of us consider a “normal” life.   I’m excited for these people.   I wouldn’t mind talking with them again.    I’m also glad that I won’t have to.   

Lesson two: Pay attention. Good stories are out there if you’re listening.

Hearing those two stories today puts a quote into my head….backwards.

One small step for mankind.   One giant leap for a man.   (or two)

Positively Chilling

It’s 9:00 on a Sunday morning as I pull my dad’s truck out of the garage and start down the road for another mission with the Akron Snow Angels.   Less than a mile down the road I look over at the readout in the truck that tells me it’s 8 degrees outside.   I’m in the truck, all bundled up in 4 layers of clothes including Carhartt overalls, and I’m cold.   It’s at this point when it dawns on me, “I don’t see how some of my friends live in this.”

I was the first to arrive at the facility where we meet and store all of the items that we have.   It’s not heated, but it does keep everything that we have dry.    As soon as I pushed the door open I felt a rush of disappointing, but not unexpected cold air.   Once again, the question of “how can they live in this?” circled around in my head.   

We had a few more volunteers than normal today which was nice.   We got everything loaded up and headed for Grace Park as per our usual routine.   With it being so cold out, the crowd that greeted us had fewer people.   To me, that’s a good thing.   It means that some of the shelters have opened their doors to a few more people in order to make sure that they can stay warm.   

We parked and I got to do my favorite job again.   I took requests today.   I still love doing this.   I love how it gives me a chance to hear from, learn about, and interact with so many people.   Some of them are more memorable than others, but today had one interaction that gave me a bit of a spark, and it’s what led me to figure out what the lesson was for today.

On the early December mission, I met a man and his wife.   He is a taller man with a booming voice, a firm handshake and a friendly demeanor.   She is quieter and prefers to be in the background, but is very pleasant.    They live in a tent, so their situation is obviously not ideal, but my perception of their situation tells me that it’s an amazing relationship.   

He is a man of pride.   He sees their situation, and wants to work to get both of them out of it.   He is working to move things forward.   He wants to provide for them.  He wants to protect her.   On the flip side of the equation, through thick and painfully very thin times, she supports him.   She has confidence in him.   They are in a tough spot and yet they are in it 100% together.   They help each other.   It’s very easy to bail when times get tough and say “I’ll do this on my own.”   With these two, they want to do it together.   They do what so many people don’t in making sure that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.    What’s amazing is that they are doing this in conditions that most people would give up in.   It’s a powerful thing to see.   

This mission, he came up to me and asked if he could get a set of Carhartt coveralls.   It was with great pride that he told me “I got a job!”   He told me where and what he’d be doing.   “I’ll be outside 9 hours a day and it’s not going to start getting warmer for a while yet.   I hope that on the first of the month, we can finally get a place.”   Hearing those words made my week.   

It was after this conversation with him that I noticed something about everyone that I had talked to that day.   When my house drops below 68 degrees, I think it’s cold, and although I don’t complain to the dog and cats, I probably would if they would listen.   These people are living in conditions where the temperature is 8….and they aren’t complaining.   People made a few small jokes about the cold, but no actual complaints.   No griping.   No “I hate this”.   

I’ve always somewhat avoided the “how’s it going?” question when on missions as I’ve always been afraid of making someone feel bad.   After some thoughts though, I wanted to see if my lesson was turning out to be what I thought it was.   I asked my friend Jared how he was doing.   “Good!” was his only reply.   I asked Jesse how he has been as I haven’t seen him for a while.  “Not too bad”.    I asked some of the people that came up to me for requests.  “Doing ok.”   “Great!”   “I’m alive and well.”   Not one had a negative answer.   

As I started to process all of these answers and why they have them, I realized that negativity is a sign of giving up.   If you give up in this situation, in these conditions, you’re dead.   In these sometimes dire situations, hope and a positive attitude may be the only things that you have.   

Today’s lesson: Even in a difficult situation, your outlook can mean the difference between survival or failure.   

Support for a different perspective

Christmas day I spent time with some friends at Grace Park.   Since my first involvement with the Akron Snow Angels, the group has expanded my circle of friends farther than I had ever imagined.   I really look forward to meeting up with my friends...to go visit my other friends.   For a sheltered kid from the country, it’s been a wonderful experience and has opened up my thought process on almost everything that I do.   

My Christmas has always involved a morning trip to my folks house to open a few gifts a first.   After that, my mom cooks a meal that you typically eat until it hurts...and then you have a  few more bites just because it’s that good.   A few weeks ago, I told my mom that I wanted to do the Christmas mission with the Akron Snow Angels.   In the back of my mind, I was wondering how the holiday would work with me doing this though.   Being a small, but very close family, we have our routines.   We have our traditions.   Without a hesitation, everyone adapted to work around the plans that I had.   As soon as I heard how willing everyone was to work around my schedule for the day, the first lesson dawned on me.  

Lesson one: The people that truly care will find ways to support what you’re passionate about.

The trip to Grace Park was a bit different for me this time.   I didn’t really have anything that I needed to take care of.   Instead of taking requests, I got to walk around, mingle, and just generally chat with people.    At first, I didn’t really know what to do.   As soon as I saw my friends Mike and Jared, it all became pretty easy.   

“Hi Mike!  How are you?”.   

“Fighting a bit of a sinus issue, but I’m doing good.   How about yourself?” he responded

Mike lives in a tent in a wooded area in Akron.   Let that sink in for a second.   He lives in a tent.   In the woods.   In the city.   On Christmas.   ...and he says things are good.   This is why I think I like talking with Mike so much.   There’s never really a negative word.   He’s nice, genuine, and polite.   Mike is always just a pleasure to talk to.   

If you looking for someone that has a library's worth of facts stored in their head, Jared is the guy that you want to talk to.   He’s always full of energy and always working on some small practical joke to get a smile out of someone.   Needless to say, you’re hard pressed to find someone that’s not a fan of Jared.   

Lesson two: Perspective is everything and the situation is exactly what you make of it.

In this holiday season, I’m grateful to be in a position where I have people around me that support me and my passions.   I am also really glad that I have friends of all walks of life.   These friends make me laugh, and make me realize that those laughs are the most important thing.   

To all of you, my most sincere thanks for making this holiday season a special one.   

Constantly improving

Who else would I walk with but Rudy?    The walk with him was a bit different this time though.  Another volunteer and I were asked to walk Rudy with another dog named Zoey.    I guess that Zoey is a bit woeful of the world and Rudy has been pretty darn good support.   Fill up my pockets with treats, and head to the room where they are both staying.   

As we start to head out, you can tell that Zoey isn’t exactly crazy about the idea.   Rudy on the other hand, he’s ready to go!   As we start to motivate towards the park, things smooth out a little bit.   It really was an uneventful walk.   We met a few other dogs, hung out for a few, but would continue walking around the park.   We would walk some more and occasionally stop for a treat, a potty break, or for some scratches and a hug, but overall, it was just a walk.   Time seemed to roll past rather quickly.   Before I knew it, it was time to head back and bid farewell to my friend.   

It hit me this morning what Rudolph was teaching me last night, and I’m not quite sure how he was able to teach me two lessons about the same subject, and show me both the good and bad sides of it.   

Rudy was there for Zoey.   He had gone from a dog that needed care, to one that could do the caring.   He has constantly improved and has gone from the one that needed help, to the one doing the helping.   To meet him 2 months ago and see where he is now and what he does now, he’s come a tremendous distance.   It was all done by making constant, small improvements.   It’s amazing what effort and time can create.

The constant improvement that Rudy has done, well...I guess I had stopped improving with him on our walks.   We have a bit of a routine which is nice, but in the same sense, this isn’t where it should be stopping.   He wants to improve.  He wants to learn.   He’s nowhere close to reaching his potential.   In life, so many of us reach a comfortable spot and stop pushing forward.   Rudy is depending on me to help him do this until he finds his forever home...and I feel like I’ve let him down.  I’m honestly finding that very difficult to deal with.   That “comfortable routine” that has been found in the walks is holding him back.   Maybe we all need to get out of our comfortable routine and learn something new.   

This is a very special dog, and he deserves better.   Once again, I’m really hoping that my friend has found a forever home before my return visit next Monday.   If not, I know that I need to help him help me improve.   

Tough Decisions

A tongue for treats.....and kisses!

Familiar things can be good and bad. I was more than happy to walk with Rudolph this evening. I am sad that he isn’t in a forever home…yet. I will state that as difficult as it is, I’m ok with it. The person that Rudy met last week as a possible adopter decided that maybe Rudolph wasn’t the best fit for their home. I’m glad that they reached that decision earlier rather than later and I hold no hard feelings on that. It’s a very difficult call to make, but they felt that they had reason to do so. It takes a strong will act on that. Although it wasn’t Rudolph, I’m pretty confident that the person will be adopting a rescue dog in the near future, and that in itself is a wonderful thing. I sincerely hope that Rudolph gets adopted soon, and I do think that it will happen. Patience is a virtue that Rudy has much more of than I. Maybe even some day he and Irving could hang out together. Who knows...

As Rudolph and I walked with one of the other volunteers and Queenie, I was told that “as soon as Rudolph heard your voice, he started jumping and got all sorts of excited.” It feels good to know that what I’m doing can get someone that excited. In some ways, I think that I’m one of the highlights of the week for him. In some ways, working with him is the highlight of mine also. What I give in treats, I receive back 10-fold in understanding, loyalty, life lessons, and kisses.

What did I learn from today? Rudolph has shown me that he is constantly learning. Constantly evolving. I need to follow his lead in that. As he and I have walked together, I see him get more and more excited for our walks as he starts to grasp how much there is to learn. As he gets better about sit, stay, up, and wait, I can see that he’s thinking, “Ok, got it. What’s the next trick that’s going to make you happy (and earn me a treat maybe)?” He’s soaking up knowledge like a sponge. He wants to explore. He wants to play. He wants to thrive. He really wants to be a companion. He wants to learn from someone. I find that awesome and admirable. This is one really smart dog and I’m amazed at how much he has taught me. Wow……...

Leading, when you need to

Yup.    Monday.   That means another walk at One of A Kind.   When I walk in, it’s not even a question as to who I’ll be walking with. I’m greeted with “Rudolph is waiting for ya”.   I peek in the window and I see a dog that is ready and waiting to go.   Like a battery that’s been charging all week and is ready burn up all of that energy at once.   I say hi with a treat, hook the leash on, and we head out to the park.

Once we get to the park, it’s go time!   We ran almost a full lap.   We generally followed the path, but there were some “off path excursions”.    (Hey, you have to stop and smell the roses…...or in this case, where other dogs have pee’d).   We had a blast, but sometimes running with Rudolph is a bit tough.   He runs in front of, beside, behind, then in front, then stops to sniff, then off to the side, then takes off like a shot, then to the……..you get the idea.   I realized two separate things at this point.   The first part is that without leadership, things aren’t efficient.   They don’t stay on task.   I was letting Rudy lead and the priority for him was really just to follow the next smell.   He sorta-kinda followed the path, but we were all over it.   We weren’t really getting anywhere.   For us to actually walk around the park the best he needed a leader to guide him.   Being on the other end of the leash, that was up to me.    

Taking my leadership responsibilities a bit more seriously, I started to offer my guidance to keep him on track.   As I started to rein him in and point in directions, he did great.  He walked next to me.   He checked other things out, but did his best to stay on task.   While doing this, I could tell he just was ready to explode though.   That’s when the second part hit me.   “Why are we restraining what we’re doing?”   This guy doesn’t get walks in the park but once a week.    Should the whole hour be filled with rules and work?   Heck no!!!!!!   I looked down at the same time he looked up at me.   “Let’s go Rudy!”   We took off running like the wind and having a blast.   Sniffing, stopping, starting, and going in circles as he pleased.  It was his time for fun!   My second lesson…fun doesn’t always need to be organized.   Sometimes, it just needs to happen.

As we started going a bit bananas and having some fun, my phone rings.   It’s a call from One of A Kind.   “Hi Josh.   I was wondering if you could bring Rudolph back as there’s someone here that would like to meet him and maybe adopt him.”   I’ll be very honest, I’m not sure how I responded, but inside I said “@#$% yes we can!”   I scratched his chin, and said, “Let’s go buddy!   This could be your big chance!”   Straight across the middle of the park we went.   We didn’t need a path!    We needed a straight line to get us back as fast as 6 legs can carry us.   

We get back to the clinic and I’m doing my best to act like I didn’t just do a ½ mile sprint with the dog, and failing miserably.   I’m breathing like someone that ran a marathon while sucking air through a straw.   I do my best to compose myself and  we head into the room for a meet and greet.

  

Frankly, I think it’s better if I don’t say much about the meeting.  I will say that I’m very hopeful.   I very much hope that I will miss Rudy.   If I do, it’s because he has the forever home that he deserves.   For such a wonderful creature, this possibility makes me feel happier and more fulfilled than I have in a very long time.   We will see what happens, but if it means that Rudolph has his forever home, I’m more than willing to let someone else teach this old dog some new tricks.    

Tough times

I’m not sure if it’s just the day, the weather, or if I’m just on mental overload from yesterday….but tonight’s walk was very difficult for me.   I’m honestly still in a bit of a daze from it.   Walking into the shelter/clinic tonight, my heart just sank.   So many barking dogs all calling out.   I’m not sure what they’re saying, but I know that all of them deserve love.   As I move about, there’s that overwhelming “I want to help them all” thing that creeps up and smacks me over the head…..repeatedly.   This is a tough fight.   I am here though and keep reminding myself of an earlier lesson…..”Never let ‘I wish I could help them all’ prevent you from making all of the difference for one”.

Through the window, I see Rudolph.   Like the rest, he’s barking.   Then he sees me in the window and he suddenly becomes a bit more calm.   The barking is now replaced by a wagging tail.   My mission became a bit more clear.   

So I grab some poop bags (of which we only needed one this week!!!!) and a handful of treats.   I head back to his cage, and tell him to sit…and he does.   I opened the cage door and “sit” goes out the window.   He’s not headed for the door though.   He comes straight up to give me a good “Glad to see ya man!” headbutt in the knee.   On goes the leash and a few “how are ya buddy?” pets and scratches later, we’re headed out the door.

He was ready.   Although he’s still a touch skinny, he pulled like a sled dog.   Rudy was bouncing around like a superball.   I was ready for a walk in the park.   He was ready for a run.   So, we ran about ⅔ of a lap before he finally started to tire out a bit.   It was a lot of fun.  It was also a bit challenging as he likes to run in front, behind, and beside me….but fun.   We walked.   We sniffed other dogs.   We hung out.   We worked on “sit”.   I'm finding that “stay” is still a work in progress, but I think that he’s getting it.   I blame the teacher for being a bit too easy to get a treat from.   

As we were walking back, again his lesson really started to hit me.   4 weeks ago, I first walked this dog with barely any fur and an upset stomach who was living in a shelter.   Today, I was walking a strong, pretty healthy pup with loads of energy.   This guy is going to take on the world!   Just because someone is down, don’t count them out.   This guy has gotten a lot of help from a lot of great people at www.OneofAKindPets.com, but he is the one that has pulled through the tough times.   He is the one that has done the hard work.  Perseverance is what’s gotten him to where he is today and it’s what will take him farther.   This guy has moxy.   He got dealt a shit hand and lost a lot of chips.   He is well on his way back to the high rollers table though...and I admire him for that.   

When times are tough, that’s when you have to fight the hardest.

Thanks for the lesson Rudy...I guess I owe you a few more treats.

Trust me

So despite the cold, I went for a walk with Rudolph tonight. The staff at One of A Kind saw me on the way in and said, "we figured that you would want to walk with Rudolph tonight. He has his sweater on and is ready to go."

Rudy is getting baths to help him get past mange. His hair is growing back. His skin is healing up. With all of that going on, he is "scratchy dog". We had to stop a few times on our walk for itches and scratches. I'd do my best to help out and try to scratch the right spots. Once we got going though......this dog just wanted to run and play and run some more. We had an absolute blast together. I did learn that carhartt overalls and work boots are not the best running combination. That didn't matter though. We were having an absolute treat fed riot. (He ate the treats......not me).

About 20 minutes later, I noticed that the tail wasn't wagging as much. Turns out, Rudolph was cold. Can't blame the guy either. In addition, his paws really started hurting from the cold/parking lot salt combination. The other bad part? We were about 1/3 of a mile from the clinic. So here I stood, thinking, "this is a stray/shelter dog that's a bit rambunctious. Can I pick him up without him chomping on me?" As I'm thinking this, he sits on my foot and leans against my legs while looking up at me like "hey man. I need some help here. Maybe we overdid our walk? I hope you know how we can get back because I can't really walk". At that moment, I knew that we'd be good.

As soon as I picked him up, he was shivering a bit still, but once we started going, he was totally relaxed. It wasn't but a few steps before he rested his head on my shoulder. Moments before, we were both a little worried. As we went back to the clinic, we were both totally relaxed. Except for my arms.....my arms were screaming as I was carrying 45 lbs of shivering dog 1/3 of a mile.

No one at the shelter knows his back-story. I hope it's not a bad one. I hope it's just some dumb bad luck. I really hope that Rudy finds a loving forever family once he is out of the clinic and up for adoption. Whenever we walk, I try to do some training with him so he is as adoptable as possible. We do good on the proper way to walk, sit, stay, and "let's go". Shake and lay down still need some work though. 

Tonight, Rudy taught me "no matter what your past is, sometimes, you just need to trust each other."