Puppy fear, Human fear, and Love

As I write this, I am sitting with my dog's leash wrapped around my wrist while we sit at our kitchen table watching men remove and install new carpet.   It is noisy and dusty work.  It wasn't long before the sounds of the removal became too much for our dog and she started to hide in the corner.   When I went to her, she wouldn't come out, even when I tried to entice her with a snack.   This isn't like her.

I grabbed a leash and walked her out of the house.  For a minutes, we left the disruptive sounds of the home improvement project because there was no way for her to comprehend that all that she was hearing and seeing was actually the good kind of destruction. One that produces a better environment when the process is complete. When we got back inside the house I kept the leash on for two reasons, I did not want her to wander off alone because of fear, and I wanted to keep her close so that as she fidgets I can comfort her.

There are many times where a leash looks and feels confining to my pet.  Maybe when we let fear connect us to other caring people the opposite happens.  We gain the freedom to feel and a personal reminder that this will pass and what follows will be good for us.    When fear makes us hide, it is love that liberates.

It's a bonus too when those who love us do so with snacks!