It's a ruff life: Looking at life from dog's view

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Michael Williams
  • Band of the Golden West
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  My name is Sierra and I am an old Alaskan husky.

Currently, my owner is attempting to impress his bosses by consolidating the knowledge gained through seven military schools and a master's degree in leadership into something called the Bachelor of Integrated Total force Education (BITE). While he completes that lengthy narrative, I will share with you what us dogs call the Bachelor of Arts in Real Knowledge (BARK).

Remember, somebody always has to clean up your poop. A job is not completed until all of the tasks are finished. Although your coworkers may say "oh, it was no problem," it probably was.

The phrase, "If you are not the lead dog, the view is always the same" is only good for selling t-shirts. The reality is if you want to learn a process, spend time in the trenches, get to know the other dogs and your view will never be the same.

Fireworks are impressive and draw enthusiastic praise, but frankly they scare the heck out of me and my friends. Never forget that your style may not appeal to everyone and never ignore the downside of your actions.

People respond to sincere enthusiasm. Do you think that my owner really wanted to take me for a walk when it was below zero and snowing outside or do you think that he couldn't say no to my excitement?

If you rarely bark, it is a big deal when you do and people will pay attention. When I first heard my pit bull friend next door bark, it was intimidating. But after hearing him bark all day long, every day, I hardly notice it anymore.

Don't be afraid of change. I was not excited when my owner came home and said that we were moving where it doesn't snow, but I have since discovered one important fact.

There are squirrels virtually everywhere and places exist where I don't have to wear those silly booties on my feet.

Be yourself. My brothers and sisters were all sled dogs, but I was dropped from the team because I wasn't the racing type.

Although I used to be jealous of them, I now realize that the qualities that made me stink as a sled dog are what my owners love about me.

Immediate correction is the most effective. If you ignore me when I begin taking a few unwanted sniffs at your food, whose fault is it when it ends up in my belly?

Give kind words. I will work my tail off for a reward, so will most people.

There is always hope. I spent the first years of my life being passed around to different owners, eventually ending up in a cement cell at animal control. But my world changed the moment my current owners sprung me. If you feel trapped, don't worry. It might take a little while, but things will turn around.

I hope that you take these lessons to heart, because paying attention to the BARK is significantly better than having to deal with the BITE.