As I was scrolling through Pinterest the other day I came across a pin that said "Make a list of things that make you happy. Make a list of things you do every day. Compare the lists. Adjust the lists accordingly." My anxiety has been way out of hand the last several days for many reasons. Everything that is causing my anxiety to be on high alert is manageable and small, but everything seems to be snowballing. Lilly really wanted to go to the dog park this morning. She kept running to me, running to the door, running to me, running to the door...you get the picture. She only does that when she wants to go to the park. I work at noon today and I didn't think I would have time to take her and get back in time to get us both cleaned up. (Turns out that I did and I'm even managing to squeeze this blog post in before I get in the shower hahaha) As I was driving back from the dog park with a very happy Bug in the backseat I started thinking a lot about that pin on Pinterest. I often let myself get so bogged down with school and work that I stop letting myself enjoy the little things in life, and in my opinion the little things are some of the most important things. I'm comparing my lists and adjusting them accordingly. Does that mean I'm going to neglect my job and my class work for the university? No. Not at all. But it does mean that I'm going to take Lilly to the dog park more and stop wasting so much time venting and complaining about how unnecessarily stressful some aspects of my job are.My goal for the rest of the semester (and the rest of my life) is to make the "things that make me happy" list and the "things I do every day" list look more like each other. To me that starts with doing things like taking Lilly to the dog park, even when I feel like I might not have much time to do so. We spent just under an hour there today and we met an adorable pibble named Joseph and his mommy. His mom and I set up play dates for later this week. That wouldn't have happened if I had decided not to take her this morning. She had fun, I had fun, and being at the park made both of us happy. I encourage you to compare your lists and adjust them accordingly. Your anxiety levels and your dog will thank you.
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My husband and I spent the majority of the day at the dog park yesterday. Lilly had SO much fun. I think the highlight of the day was when she met a pug named Rolo and they played together for at least an hour. A pug and a pibble might seem like unlikely play mates but they got along so well. They chased and chased each other and Rolo would stand on his back legs and bat at Lilly with his front paws to encourage her to keep playing. It was adorable!
Lilly had fun at the park yesterday, and I did too, but I left the park in tears for reasons she can't understand. Pit Bull prejudice hit us hard at the park yesterday. One thing that I feel that is important to say from the very beginning is that Lilly really does not care about toys when she is at the park. She will fetch balls for us inside the house but the second she steps into the park she doesn't give one flying fladoodle about any toys there. If someone throws a ball and a group of dogs runs to fetch it she joins in, but she isn't running to get the ball, she is running to try and play with the dogs. I don't think she even realizes half the time that the other dogs are on a mission to fetch something. She is there to have fun, and to her fun involves people and dogs, not toys. Lilly found a group of dogs that she liked soon after we got there and we watched her run around with them while Chris and I set up her water bowl at a picnic table. The group of dogs she was playing with all came up to Chris and I for water and pets. They were all super sweet and one even jumped up to give Chris kisses. One of the dog's owners was at a picnic table not far from us and she started engaging her dog in one-on-one play. She would throw the toy and her dog would bring it back to her. Lilly decided to join in, not because she wanted the toy, but because she wanted to continue playing with her new doggy friend. As Lilly was running alongside the dog in the process of bringing the toy back the dog suddenly dropped the toy and bit Lilly in the face. Lilly just stood there like "what the heck just happened" as the dog continued to growl at her. I ran over as the other dog's owner was breaking things up. Lilly found another group of dogs to play with and went along with her business. Around an hour later the owner of the dog that had bitten Lilly threw a tennis ball to a group of dogs. Her dog got to it first, clenched down on the ball, and stood there growling like a maniac until all of the other dogs ran away. All of the other dogs except Lilly. Lilly stood there with her whole but wagging a million miles an hour as this dog growled at her trying to tell her to back off the tennis ball. Lilly didn't even want the ball. She just wanted to play with the doggy, but the dog and the dog's owners didn't know that. Lilly stood there barking at the dog with her tail wagging as the dog's owners put their legs around the dog and tried to get the tennis ball out of the dogs clenched jaws. I got to them as the female owner's husband was putting himself in between Lilly and his wife and dog and yelling at me that "I'm lucky Lilly hasn't bitten anyone yet." I put Lilly's leash on her and kept her by me as the couple and their dog made their way to the gate of the park. Once they were far enough off I let Lilly off of her leash. Lilly decided she still wanted to play with their dog and ran over to see the dog again. The female owner grabbed her dog and stood with her legs around the sides trying to protect her. The male owner again put himself between his dog and wife and again yelled at me like I was the devil and Lilly was my demon spawn. I think that it is important to point out that Lilly never touched their dog or either owner. Was she barking? Yes. She stood about 2 feet back from the dog and owners and barked as she continuously wagged her tail. There is no way that anyone should have considered what she was doing aggressive or vicious in any way. She never growled and never made a movement toward the dog or owners. She just wanted to play with the other dog and didn't understand why there were two people blocking her from doing so and yelling so much. It didn't matter that the other dog started the issue each time or that Lilly never responded in a negative way. She's a Pit Bull so any issue is obviously her fault right? I left the park yesterday feeling so absolutely defeated. After the incidents Lilly went right on playing with her other puppy friends. She played with small puppies and small children. A couple let their 2 year old son throw tennis balls to her and run around with her. She is such a sweet and loving dog. There isn't a mean bone in her body. It infuriates me that when something happens some people immediately decide that it's her fault. She is a pit bull so she is obviously vicious and she will obviously turn on me and other dogs and people. Why? Because that is who pit bulls are and that is what they do. (so many eye rolls) This is why it is so important to advocate for the breed and show the world that Pit Bulls are not their stereotypes. It seems like anywhere you look on social media and news channels you can find a negative story about a Pit Bull. Why on earth are giving such negative and isolated events so much attention? Where are the stories about the search and rescue pit bulls? Where are the stories about all of the pit bulls working as therapy dogs? Where are the stories showing how screwed up some people are that they are training and conditioning innocent puppies to fight? I know I've been on a soap box for the entirety of this post and I apologize. It is just frustrating that there are still so many people in the world that refuse to see pit bulls past their stereotypes. If you're feeling down and defeated like I was yesterday my heart goes out to you. Keep your head held high and give your pibble a hug today. We FINALLY took Miss Lilly Bug to the dog park! And you know what happened? SHE HAD THE TIME OF HER LIFE. Chris and I (mainly me, really) have been so scared to take her to the dog park for fear that someone would make an accusation of some kind against our lovely Bug. She is a Pit Bull after all and I think its pretty obvious from her Instagram that she is a nothing short of a cold-blooded killer because of her breed. (Wink Wink) Lilly has been around dogs before while on a leash and done fine with them, aside from the high pitch squeals she makes out of excitement. They are SO loud. We've been putting off the dog park for several reasons, but the main reason was the fear of people's reactions when we walked in with Lilly. I could picture everyone seeing us walk in, gasp, pick up their dogs in fear, and leave the park. I just didn't think I could handle that.
Chris finally decided that it was time to take her to the dog park so I went to our local animal shelter and registered her with our city. Every dog that goes to the dog park has to be registered and have a special tag on their collar proving that they are up-to-date on shots. I'm sure that not every dog running around the dog park on a daily basis is registered with the city, but hey, that's life. It was Sunday afternoon when Chris and I put her harness on her and I announced that we were going to the park. Lilly knows the word "park" and associates it with the park that we go for walks in occasionally. She squealed, wiggled her butt, and ran to the door crying hysterically as she waited for us to open the door. Once we had her buckled up in her special seat-belt attachment we headed off for the dog park and she cried the entire drive there. We walked Lilly around the perimeter of the park so we could get a feel of how things worked. There were so many dogs inside the large dog area and they seemed exceptionally well behaved. We walked inside and kept Lilly on the leash for a little bit as we walked farther into the park. A woman walked up to us and said in a very sarcastic tone "Oh my gosh! They have a Pit Bull!! Ahh!!" as her Pit Bull ran up beside her. I knew right then that we were going to be okay there. Lilly really liked her Pit Bull and they ran around and played with each other for quite awhile. Lilly stood by the gate and cried when the lady and her Pittie walked out to go home. It nearly broke my heart. Not long after we arrived some of our friends showed up with their dogs. The larger of their dogs is named Pune and he LOVES to play. Immediately after meeting each other Lilly and Pune were rolling around in the sand and chasing each other all over the place. Pune likes to try to fit other dogs heads in his mouth and he kept trying to fit Lilly's giant head in his mouth. It didn't work very well. She laid down in the sand butt wagging a million miles and hour and let him continuously try to fit her head in his mouth. I swear if she could talk she would have been saying "Wow! Good job Good Job! This is great! Good try!" in a ridiculously happy and playful voice. They played together off and on for the rest of the day. In a different area of the park a guy was throwing tennis balls for his Great Dane. Lilly decided to try and be friends with the giant doggy. She looked like a chihuahua next to him! It was the funniest thing to watch. He had no interest in her but that didn't keep her from running circles all around him trying to get his attention. So many people came up to us and asked to pet Lilly and play with her. One women even squatted down so Lilly could give her a big slobbery kiss. I was not expecting such a welcome reaction from the people at the dog park. We've taken her back several more times since our first visit and she has so much fun each time. I love watching Lilly run around and have fun and I especially love seeing people interacting with her. It warms my heart to see that there are more people in the world that love pitties. I am never going to let fear of the thoughts and actions of others keep me from doing something with Lilly ever again. I was so afraid to take her to the dog park, and I'm not sure I ever would have taken her if my husband hadn't finally pushed for it so hard. Lilly is a pittie and everyone has their own idea of pittes, regardless of whether or not all of those ideas are accurate. I was afraid to take her to the dog park because I feared what others would think, do, and say. In doing so I bought into the false stereotypes of pitties and gave them the power to control my actions as well as Lilly's. Part of advocating for the breed is breaking stereotypes and proving them wrong. You can't do that very well if you are letting the stereotypes control you and constrain you. My advice? Break free of the stereotypes and prove them wrong. If you've never taken your pittie/bully breed to the pet store or park or anywhere because you felt discriminated against or worried that someone would make a rude comment....take them! Use it as a chance to advocate for the breed and spread correct information. Don't let the false stereotypes control the places you go or the things you do with your bully breed. It isn't fair to them. |
Love, Lilly BugHello, Loves! It's still Hannah here! Lilly Bug's Human from Tater Tots and Wine. Lilly has inspired so many DIYs that I thought she needed a blog space of her own! On this page of the Tater Tots and Wine Blog you will find dog treat recipes, diy dog toys, and maybe hear about an adventure or two! I hope you Enjoy! Archives
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