The summer after 8th grade I came home from summer camp to meet my brand new puppy: Toby. The black and white little bundle of fun greeted me with all his spunky puppy love. As with any puppy, the next few months consisted of potty training, learning to walk with a leash, and teaching Toby a few tricks.
Admittedly Toby’s arsenal of tricks isn’t all that extensive. It caps off at “sit”, “stay”, “come”, “shake”, and “lie down”. One skill that I attempted to teach him (that never ended up very successful) was playing fetch. Toby just never seemed interested in repeatedly retrieving the ball or toy that I threw. He would occasionally fetch the toy one time but then show no interest when I threw it a second time.
Toby is now about twelve and a half years old. That works out to be about 90 in dog years and he acts his age. Walking up stairs is difficult, he sleeps most of the day and takes vitamins to help his joints. He is an old man, but still young at heart.This year for Christmas Santa brought Toby a plush toy bone in his stocking (as usual). After unwrapping his new toy, he proceeded to chew on it as he laid on his comfy foam bed. When I walked into the kitchen he stood up with toy in mouth and looked at me. I took the toy and tossed it across the kitchen. Toby fetched. Dropping the toy at my feet again he looked on expectantly. I tossed it again, expecting the same reaction I’ve gotten for the past 12 years. To my surprise, Toby reacted differently. He fetched the toy AGAIN…..and again and again and again.
Turns out you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!
May this be an encouragement to those of us who are “set in our ways”. We are all capable of learning and growing no matter how young, old, refined, rough around the edges or stubborn we may be. All excuses aside, it’s never too late to grow!
