Clare+K’s+Final+AmEx+Speech+2016

= **A Message from Whimsey: Want to be Happy? Live Like a Dog.** =

I know what you’re all thinking, I’m getting up here and copying that cute boy Freddie…but I’m not. I have a message for you. It’s a message for the 2015-2016 AmEx Class, the class I grew up with, on the last day we’ll all be together in our not-so-little “AmEx family”. So, listen up all of you- yes even the people who claim they aren’t “dog people”- because I have something to say.

I could give you a whole long speech about the kind of America I want to grow old in, but it would be a complete hoax, because I have no concept of the future…or America. I don’t even process time the same way you do. Yes, I know when my dinnertime is, when it’s time to go see Fitz, and when everybody needs to get in bed. However, I can’t think forward or backward in time- or so science tells me. This concept of “future” is not one I’m sure I understand. The humans say “future” is anything after this moment, anything that hasn’t happened yet. Apparently, humans plan the future, I guess I’ll try to do the same, so I can pretend to be a human. In my future, I think I want tummy rubs, two dinnertimes, walkies, dogs to play with, all the toys, cookies, apple slices, peanut butter bones, a kitty and my special person. I also want a bucket.

That wasn’t too hard, but I think I’ll go back to being a dog now. I want to tell you a story, the story of how I became me- Whimsey. I’m going to tell you about the biggest adventure of my life. When I was puppy, something really strange happened to me. I woke up one day and was playing with all my siblings when the nice ladies who volunteer in the nursery came. They gave me something called a Bath and dried me off with a Towel. My friend Mindy carried me out into the bright sunshine and handed me to a stranger. That was My Girl, but I didn't know that yet. She put something called a Collar around my neck and cradled me in her arms. She called me a word I hadn’t heard before, “Whimsey”. I didn't know her, but she seemed happy to see me, so I gave her some kisses. Then, something really, really strange happened. I had leave my siblings and the nursery behind. I rode in something called a Car for the very first time. I didn't know what was going on, but the stranger Mindy handed me too cradled me in her arms. Whoever this girl was, I knew she would protect me.

Over the next few weeks, I learned that stranger was important. She comforted me when I cried and made sure I had full belly three times a day. She had a big Yellow Dog named Jazlyn. She was Jazlyn's Girl and Jazlyn was Her Dog. Jazlyn taught me lots of things. She taught me how to play tug-of-war and my-teeth-are-bigger-than-yours. She taught me to be a Working Dog when I had my Yellow Jacket on, and how to Sit for Cookies. Most importantly, she taught me that girl was My Girl too.

If I wanted to be Her Dog, I needed to do some important things. I needed to love My Girl with all my heart. I needed to guard her secrets and lick away her tears. I needed to //make// her laugh in times of sorrow and laugh //with// her in times of joy. I needed to be her unrelenting optimism when it seemed as if her heart would break with grief. I needed to be her rock when she was in pain. I needed to forgive her for her moments of anger or impatience. I needed to be an open book for her to read that would remind her to stay humble. I needed to be her jester, true love and protector. I needed to be her smile when she didn't have one.

One day, Jazlyn left. Jazlyn had left before, sometimes with Her Girl and sometimes without, but she always came back. This time she didn’t. Her Girl came home with her leash and nothing else. She seemed sad when she picked me up and hugged me. I followed her around the house as she vacuumed up all of Jazlyn’s hair, cleaned her crate, washed her bed and put away her leash and Training Collar. That night she put me to bed in Jazlyn’s Crate with Jazlyn’s Bed, but it wasn’t Jazlyn’s anymore- it was My Crate and My Bed. More importantly, that girl wasn’t Jazlyn’s girl anymore, she was MY GIRL.

That girl over there over? She is still My Girl. She feeds me. She tells me I'm a good dog. She holds The Leash and gives me toys. I trust her with everything, and she trusts me with everything. She is My Girl and I am Her Dog.

With My Girl I’ve learned a lot. I learned how to wait for my breakfast and dinner. I learned how to eat peanut butter and apple slices nicely. I learned how to how to sleep on the couch and take up her entire bed, even though it is NOT ALLOWED. I learned what it means to be a Good Dog and how to go for Walks. I learned that fetch is stupid and kitties have sharp claws. I learned that that word, Whimsey, is my name. I learned how to go to Grocery Stores and to School. I learned how to throw a temper tantrum if I don’t see Fitz and how to look in his Trashcan. I learned how to be a Working Dog and to wear my Superhero Cape. I learned that I can get away with counter-surfing at my puppy-sitter Hope’s house and that my Auntie Kayla will take me fun places like Universal Studios and the Reagan Library. Also, she has my boyfriend Tahoe and my friend Hachee.

I’ve also learned how flawed humans can be. Humans get angry too easily and hold grudges for too long. Humans care too much of their material things get destroyed and yell too often. Humans judge each other too quickly and dismiss each other as unimportant far more than they should. Humans care too much about money and not enough about happiness. Humans hate their bodies more than they should. Most of all, humans worry about the future too much.

My Girl, as amazing as she is, is not free of those flaws. She gets angry and yells, she gets mad when I do things like chew up her hairbrushes. She only half listens when five people in the store want to tell her about how their three-legged Min Pin with an autoimmune disease would make a perfect service dog if they could just stop him from trying to rip people’s faces off. And holy-moly she worries about the future.

When My Girl worries about the future, she gets stressed out, sad and angry. When people ask her about her future, she leaves the conversation feeling more confused than ever. She feels defeated when people tell her the plans she’s thought of aren’t a good idea or won’t pan out. She forgets to be present and loses herself in worry and stress.

I’ll admit, sometimes humans are very confusing. You do things that don’t make sense to me at all- like all that free food on the floor. Why in the world don’t you eat it? It’s just lying there and you just walk by like it doesn’t even exist. It’s like you don’t know that bread crusts that have been dropped on the floor and stepped on several times taste incredible.

But as confusing as you humans are, there’s one thing you will always do without fail. You like to try and consume yourself with worry over things you cannot control. You make yourself miserable trying to grasp something that has never even been in reach.

That future you keep worrying about? That college you may or may not get into? The person you may or may not have a relationship with? Stop worrying about it. Think about it, but don’t waste your life away with worry. It seems like almost everyone has said at some point this year that they want to be me, that they’re life would be perfect if they could just be a dog. Well, now I’m going to tell you the secret to being a dog, so you too can live a happy life.

//Live for today//. Yep, that’s right. It’s no fancy five step process. It isn’t about having paws, a wet nose, or furry tummy for everyone to pet. Being a dog is all about living for today and the people you’re with no matter where you are.

First off, **don’t confuse presents with presence.** Having things is not the same thing as having connections. Giving things to people is not the same as being with them. Have you ever considered that a lot of the things humans have are used primarily to distract themselves from their unhappiness, loneliness or stress? Smartphones, TVs, headphones and video games are all distractions. So, is shopping and making impulse buys. Those things won’t make you happy in the long term, they’ll just distract you for a little while.

That first day I met My Girl may have been one of the strangest and most confusing days of my life, but it was also one of the happiest. I was in a new place with new people and new things I had never seen before, but those new people wanted to see me and interact with me. Most importantly, they wanted me to like them. My Girl didn’t just hand me toys to play with, but offered to play with me. She didn’t just put me in my crate to sleep, but made sure I felt safe and secure before closing the door and turning out the light. She wasn’t just a presence, but was truly present with me. When My Girl forgets to be present with me like she was on that first day and pays more attention to things like Netflix or YouTube, I act out. I rip thing up, steal her clothes (especially her bras) and generally wreak havoc if I’m left unsupervised. Maybe you don’t have someone like me helpfully ripping up your things to tell you to snap out of it, but you have your own Whimsey if you look closely enough. Maybe it’s your mom insisting you get up and “do something with your life” or your friends drifting away and not inviting you places, or maybe it’s just your own unhappiness. Find out what your “bad Whimsey” is in life and learn to pay attention to it.

Secondly, **seek out what makes you happy.** This one is pretty simple. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but unlike humans, dogs never actively seek out things we don’t like. If given a choice we won’t sleep in uncomfortable places, eat food we don’t like, or approach people who have been mean to us. It is so much easier to live in the present if your present is a happy one. It’s not always possible to always seek out what makes us happy, but it’s easier than it seems. And if you can avoid something that makes you miserable, then for goodness sake, avoid it.

And third, but perhaps the most important, **find joy in everything.** Remember that story I told you? If I had been a human that probably would have been the worst day of my life, because I might have been consumed with worry and a fear of what might come next. Yes, some parts of the day were scary like the bath (still don’t like those things), the car ride and Jazlyn’s belief that what she really needed to do was knock me over again and again, but I didn’t focus on those things for long. They were replaced much more quickly with happy moments. Had I focused on the negative experiences all day, I might not have figured out that tummy rubs are magical and My Girl’s arms are a cozy place to take a nap.

Yes, school is boring and I’d much rather do something besides sleep, but I still run to the door every time My Girl says, “Let’s go to school, Whimsey,”, because I know my friends will be waiting to see me. Going to an infusion at the hospital with my Auntie Kayla means a lot of long, boring hours sitting around waiting, but my second favorite person in the world will be happy, because I am with her keeping her company, which in turn makes me happy. No, I don’t like vet visits at GDA (especially when they give me shots), but I do like all the nice vet techs and kennel staff who lavish me with attention and let me get away with things My Girl would never ever let me do.

It isn’t about always having the best day ever or being happy all the time, but about finding something no matter how small in every day that makes you happy and being content with that happiness. Every dog knows you can’t be happy about the big stuff if you’re always sad about the small things.

Every single day I'm surrounded by people who love me very, very much and I love them back, but no matter what I will always seek out MY GIRL. She's takes care of me, loves me, protects me from scary things, and understands me like no one else. In return, I make her laugh when she doesn't want to, make her feel better when her feelings get hurt, lick away her tears when she cries and stick by her side as her very best friend. She jokingly calls herself "Mom", but she is MY GIRL and I will take care of her until I need to move on to Guide Dog College. Someday, I will have MY PERSON and I will take care of them in the very same way, but for now I have MY GIRL and that is good enough for me. I won’t worry about tomorrow, but simply wait to see what it will bring.

When we say goodbye next year, whether it is in October or January, My Girl knows it could very well be the last time we ever see each other. She won’t adopt me if I fail, the person who adopts me may not want to stay in contact with her. She may see me once more at graduation, but my new handler might not let her pet me. I might be an in-home graduate with a person who will want no contact with My Girl at all. Maybe she’ll get lucky and my new person will want to reach out to her…but if that dream doesn’t come true (it already hasn’t once before) I hope My Girl won’t be too sad. I hope she’ll at least remember what I’ve been trying to teach her- to not live in the past or worry about her tomorrow, but to simply enjoy today for what it is. I hope that all of you, my friends, who I’ve grown up next to all year long can do the same.


 * Sources: Me **