Carpe Diem Dorian

 
Dorian goes back In For Training very soon. This will conclude a season both in his life and mine. Nevermore will Dorian be in my care. His new life at Southeastern Guide Dogs, with its kennels, guide dogs and trainers, will be a radical, exciting change from his present life in a rural home setting, where he has grown up following our basic daily routine.


However, this post is not about how much I already miss him. This post is not about his future. No, I am resolving to be like Dorian, who does not even know he is leaving soon. Like most happy, healthy canines, Dorian is a carpe diem dog. He is "enjoying the day". "Diem" is Latin for day. The Latin verb "carpe" means to enjoy, to make use of. It can also mean to seize, pick or pluck, but somehow that meaning does not sit well with me. When I think of Dorian "seizing the day" it conjures up images of his not-so-distant puppy hood snatching a sock, shoe or anything else that wasn't practically nailed down, and thundering through the house while we uttered loud noises in his wake. No, "seizing or plucking the day" does not describe Dorian's habits anymore, thank goodness.



Now Dorian's carpe diem attitude, like that of most Labs, is to "enjoy the day". The normal dog does not whine and fret over the past, nor does he wring his massive paws over the future. She does not lie in her crate at night worrying about tomorrow. Instead she thoroughly enjoys a well-deserved snooze. Her gaze into the future goes no further than the next feeding. I like that. So as my days with Dorian draw to a close, like the dogs, I try to adopt a carpe diem outlook as well.

Dorian smells the scent of a patch of daffodils, sometimes called "buttercups".

Dorian and I will enjoy today, and tomorrow we'll make that day count, and so on. One day at a time. I can miss him when he's gone, but right now I will try to live in the present. What's on the agenda today? We're going outside to smell some roses. Actually, just kidding. The roses haven't bloomed yet, but there are some daffodils out there. Carpe diem, Mr. Dorian!

The words "Carpe diem" written momentarily in the sand, before the next wave takes them out.