Chasm Jumper

As promised here is the first official installment of my blog ‘The Space Between’.

I have decided to take this adventure into my overloaded and often misguided brain, slow. Much like Dante’s adventure into hell, or on the lighter side, Donkey’s (Shrek) personality. My brain contains many layers. Each layer more confusing and often more frightening than the previous. That is why I have decided to ease you, poor reader,  one step at a time, starting with the outer layer. The one you see most often.  And today I will bring you a piece of that. One thing that makes me very happy.

There is an old Ojibwa legend that says when God created the earth, He created all the animals and then he created man. In order to show man’s dominion over all of the animal kingdom, God created a wide chasm. Only the dog tried to find a way across to join man. He tried to jump the huge chasm but only his forepaws reached the far edge. Man reached down and pulled him to safety, saying “you shall be my companion forever.”  This is the story of my Chasm Jumper.

A few years ago I lost my dog and faithful companion, Mulligan. A beautiful Samoyed who was indeed a true friend. I marked this day as a turning point in my life. Everything seemed to run downhill from there. Nothing was quite right in my world. A series of disappointments followed, too numerous and mundane to mention. (They did not seem mundane at the time, but it is all a matter of perspective, isn’t it, reader?) I felt like I was being punished for something and that day. I remember the day very clearly; it was July 4^th, 2008, the day the dam broke. I will save that story for another day; this is supposed to be a happy story.

Well, hearts mend, sadness fades and we learn to go on. He was a dog, for goodness sake. We know we are going to outlive them. It’s inevitable. We enjoy them while they are here with us, and we should be thankful each day we get to spend with them. The story of a dog never has a happy ending, just a happy middle. Take ‘Old Yeller,’ ‘Where the Red Fern Grows’, not happy endings, but wonderful middles.

This brings me to my best buddy, a true mamma’s boy, Truman Kalel. (I don’t blame him for loving his momma, I happen to feel the same about her.) He came into my life two summers ago and I look at him as if he jumped the chasm just for me. I realize that he is a dog, and that I anthropomorphize way too much, but for those of you who have a loyal companion such as mine will know the love and strength a dog can bring you.

Truman is a blue merle Australian Shepherd.  A very smart and loyal breed. He is a constant companion who never judges, always listens, and is there for me regardless of what I need. If I need to just go for a walk to shake some things off, bounce some ideas off him for a project, or if I just need some quiet time on the couch he is there with me. In fact he is here by my side now watching me type this up. I am concerned he might be offended by the fact that I called him a dog on numerous occasions, because he is way more than that.

People have a hard time achieving happiness in their lives. They tend to get wrapped up in their own little world. People get confused because they do not know what they need or want, and then depression sets in. Dogs do not have this problem. They know exactly what makes them happy---doing something for someone.

So if you see me with Truman, know that we are doing something that makes us both very happy, spending time with one another. Not complaining, judging, whining or criticizing, just hanging out, and what could be better than that. So thank you Truman for jumping the chasm when I needed you most.

He is your friend, your partner, your defender; your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours faithful and true to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.

A moving testament to a dog’s loyalty was found in the ruins of Pompeii: A dog had thrown himself over his young master’s body as the volcano erupted in AD 79. Archaeologists discovered the pair almost 2000 years later.

Steve……………………