The Wisdom of a Retired Dog

One of the things I love most about working with animals is that they have a remarkable ability to notice what we sometimes overlook.

They feel the rhythm of our lives.

They sense when we are rushing.

They notice when we are distracted.

And sometimes, they remind us of something we already know deep down.

Chi Chi had one of those reminders for her family.

During a recent session, I asked her a simple question:

“What would you like more of in this season of your life?”

Her answer made all of us smile.

Chi Chi wanted more calm camping trips.

More gentle adventures.

More slow mornings.

More time simply being together.

And perhaps most importantly...

Less rushing.

Less hustling.

Less sweating the small stuff.

I couldn’t help but laugh because Chi Chi had been watching her humans closely.

She had noticed how much they had been working.

How much energy was going toward responsibilities, commitments, and the constant movement of daily life.

From Chi Chi’s perspective, everyone else was taking life and work far too seriously.

She had already figured it out.

Nap.

Wander.

Sniff.

Relax.

Repeat.

Chi Chi had entered her retirement era, and she felt it was time for her family to join her.

The beautiful thing about animals is that they rarely ask us for something complicated.

They don’t ask us to become perfect.

They don’t ask us to accomplish more.

They invite us into something much simpler.

Presence.

Connection.

Joy.

A little more time noticing the world around us.

Of course, our animals do not ask us to abandon the realities of being human.

We all have responsibilities, commitments, and seasons of life that require our attention.

The invitation is not to let our animals dictate every decision we make.

It is to leave space for their wisdom alongside our own.

To notice the moments they are inviting us to slow down, connect, play, explore, or simply be more present with the life we are already living.

Chi Chi wasn’t asking for anything extravagant.

She wasn’t asking her family to completely change who they were.

She was reminding them that the life they were working so hard to create was also meant to be experienced.

Her family listened.

And shortly after our session, they made a beautiful choice.

They took an entire month away from work.

Together.

They packed up and headed out on a slow, wandering summer adventure with Chi Chi.

Exactly the kind of life she had been inviting them toward.

This is one of the gifts animals offer us again and again.

Sometimes they aren’t asking us to change them.

Sometimes they gently remind us of the parts of ourselves and our lives that may have been placed on the sidelines.

They remind us that life is not only meant to be productive.

It is meant to be lived.

To be felt.

To be enjoyed.

To be shared with the ones we love.

Chi Chi knows this well.

Retirement, according to her, is wonderful.

And the water’s fine.

Perhaps today is a good day to ask:

What has your animal been trying to help you remember?

With love,

Annaliese