Yesterday was a really rough day. We came home and I found that Bruce made a mess in his crate. It wasn't one of those easy accidents. He sat in it. So he was nasty.
I tried to take him out of the crate slowly so he wouldn't make a mess. But he had other plans. He bolted! He ran out into the living room where he stopped to shake and rub his body on the carpet.
In a panic I grabbed his collar and quickly led him to the bathroom. Bruce hates baths. He's scared to death of them. I don't know if in his past life he was tortured with water, but he just freaks out. I forgot about that.
I wrestled with him in the tub. He's 90 lbs. And he won. Leaving me soaked in poop and water, he plastered himself between the toilet bowl and the counter. So I left him in there and proceeded to clean the mess in his crate.
I finally decided to call Petsmart and set him up for a bath. Half an hour after dropping him off, the groomer called me. She told me that he was so stressed from the bath that he threw up and she couldn't finish him. So I picked him up. He was clean but they couldn't do any brushing. At least they didn't charge me for the bath.
When I brought him back home, he laid on the couch. He seemed quiet. And sad. When he caught me looking at him, he got off the couch and approached me with his head down. And he gave me a kiss.
I was mad at him. I was so mad at him.
And then I had to think about it. All dogs have accidents. And he isn't the exception. I make mistakes too. Sometimes I forget to stuff. Sometimes I make the wrong choices.
Another thing- I knew he hated baths. He has always hated baths. That's why I usually got him groomed instead if doing it myself. So why would I be mad if I knew it wasn't going to work if I tried to bathe him myself?
As he stared at me with those big brown eyes, I realized something. He forgave ME. He forgave me long before I even took him to Petsmart. He forgave me even as I wrestled with him in the bath tub.
It takes us humans such a long time to forgive our pets when we are so quick to justify our actions and our REACTIONS.
I'm grateful to have such a loving soul in my life.
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