Remember
Padma? My Chihuahua
mix foster, who was found hiding in a barn after a snow storm? She got adopted
by a family with four kids, only to be returned because her energy level and
endless need to play overwhelmed them. To curb her
destructiveness, kids' parents admittedly relegated her to a crate, where hours on
end she grew more rambunctious and vocal. Long story short, she is back, now living
with me and my dogs.
Looking
at her frolicking, first thought that comes to mind is "Ah, to be that young
again".
To be able to run up and down the stairs
because it’s a fun and you never get tired. To play hide and seek for hours all
over the house in all inappropriate places. To race a house cat to the door only to trample
on top of him at the finish line. To disembowel every fluffy toy you meet, only
to be given a new one. I have to admit, her temperament is no match
for mine either, primarily because she's boisterous, whereas my own pack of carefully picked out doggie-couch-potatoes has difficulty accepting any dog whose sole existence isn’t
focused on championship napping. I often catch them looking at her the way
people look at a flash mob dancer in the middle of rush hour: with
equal parts of bewilderment and impatience. 
So I started
to wonder what kind of families or circumstances dogs like Padma would fit in.
Families with kids were now out. She wouldn’t be good for older folks, for
despite her being a devoted watch dog, she refuses to sit on anyone’s lap for
longer than 2 minutes, not to mention she's yet to master the art of the adoring
stare. Being young, her attention span only extends to one thing at a time,
especially when she is doing something with abandon or purpose. It was then that a
friend of mine sent me a video link out of the blue. In it, an older lady, having been just been voted a CNN Hero,
describes how years ago she started training dogs just like Padma. How qualities
that hindered these kinds of dogs from getting adopted, turned out to be the most coveted
attributes in making them successful disaster and firefighter helpers.
Since 1996, this lady's group has trained 131 search-and-rescue dog teams around
the country. Needless to say, after watching the clip, I started seeing Padma in a whole different light. Her bountiful
energy, her acting deaf to loud noises, her approach to any activity as the most
interesting ever coupled with her constantly asking to fetch made me wonder if, inspired by some obedience training of her own, she won't become a hero
someday as well? And maybe this little Chihuahua girl won't be the one to dive into rubble to find missing folks, but with the right family recognizing her for who she really is, she might rescue someone from boredom or sadness or loneliness. I've always believed that the secret to life is one’s perspective on things. So if you happen to have a
“Padma”-type dog in yours, wouldn't you want a perspective refresher too?
Either way, this link is for you:
